


Deceiving Itzam

by TheGlitteringOne



Series: Itzam [1]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-12-01 08:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 73,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11482767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGlitteringOne/pseuds/TheGlitteringOne
Summary: Loke Aumoe, High Priestess of the Biyeho religion sets out on a journey to understand the reasons for increased genocide of the believers. Ill equipped to travel alone, she enlists the aid of a farmer as a bodyguard. Throughout their journey, they meet others that decide to tag along and help her see her journey through to the end.





	1. Prologue and Chapter 1 - Teo

**Author's Note:**

> Names of people, places, and concepts may have origins in other cultures. This was as a creative aid, not for malicious intent. Any relation to real people or places is purely coincidental. Also, the story is barely beta'd, so any feedback is greatly welcomed! 
> 
> a new chapter should be available to update weekly :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prologue edited and updated 9-15.  
> Ch. 1 edited and updated 9-19

**Prologue**  


In the several nations of Itzam, there are two major religions - the new religion, known as Tumben, and the old religion, Biyeho. Both have a foundation of kindness and a fondness of things found in nature, but similarities end there. Those that follow Tumben are often called Solists and pray to one god in churches and chapels without any sort of physical offerings. Their gatherings are semi-regular and consist of a lot of group participation. Like the Biyeho, they too have priests and priestesses to guide their followers, but their focus is largely on converting others and building their fellowship. The followers of Biyeho are commonly known as Believers, whom worship a number of gods based on what their lifestyle dictates. For instance, a fisherman that is a Believer may give offerings to the god of the seas for safe conditions and a substantial bounty. They don’t have centers of worship, per se, but there are particular locations where many of their significant rituals and ceremonies are conducted. Most villages would have a priest or priestess while the larger areas would be more prone to additionally having high priests and priestesses. The Biyeho would leave offerings to the gods in which they were worshiping in small shrines in their homes or in their neighborhoods. Probably the largest difference between the two religions is that the believers believe that any number of gods actually walk among the people, and that the strongest and most true believers may be granted the power of the gods or even become the gods themselves.  


Because of the differences in the major religions, conflict was inevitable. Several years before this tale, several civil wars arose in the countries of Nich and Kabra, with opposite results. Many of the surviving Biyeho of Nich were cast away from the towns and villages and headed for asylum in other countries. Much of Nich's thriving village culture was destroyed and left empty. In Kabra, while the Biyeho officially prevailed, a great divide amongst the people continue to linger. The plains and hills are where the Tumben have settled but have been cast out of the mountainous networks where the Biyeho continue to thrive.  


Since Tumben was quickly becoming the majority religion in most of Itzam’s countries, the remaining believers had gone silent or accepted conversion. Many priests had perished in the civil wars of Nich and Kabra. Biyeho was facing many difficulties and there wasn’t any particular organization remaining. Priests were becoming harder to find and high priests were among the rarest to be seen. Loke Aumoe, a high priestess from Holom City, Holom’s capital, was making it her mission to reorganize and evaluate the Biyeho's standing throughout all of Itzam.  


Holom, as a country, was special in that the majority of its citizens were still openly Believers. The Queen's edicts dictated extreme tolerance of each other, but those of Tumben were starting to pressure the status quo. Holom’s neighboring country, Caax, was a completely different story. Mass genocide of Believers was becoming commonplace and should any be found, they would be subject to public execution. Throughout the remaining countries, most Believers were not openly practicing or discussing their daily worship activities out of growing fears. While differences separate most of the people in Itzam, most want a harmonious future, where war, famine, and poverty will become stories of days long ago. The Believers and Solists don't realize that this future relies on the actions of a single Biyeho priestess. 

**Chapter 1 – Teo**  


The atmosphere was a heavy mixture of excitement and tension which only added to the dreariness of the overcast day. The entire town seemed to fill the center square and any sort of movement through the crowd was proving to be very difficult. At this stage, neither Loke nor Magnar had any sort of useful plan, but continued to press through the dense ocean of people to try and reach the front. Cloaked against the chilled air and misting sky, Loke's heart started to feel as dreary as the weather. They were still rather far back in the crowd, that you couldn't really see what was at the center of the mob, even though everyone knew what was on display. Every so often they heard cheering or wails above the murmur of the gossiping townsfolk. 

Caax was a country of smaller villages, mostly centered around farmland. The capital city of Teo is near the southern coast and a long river towards the east of the country divided the land, leaving the most impoverished lands to the east of the river. Magnar, a man of twenty six with short, messy, dark blue hair and bright green eyes, spent his entire life in Caax. Most of the time, he would tend to his family’s small farm of several generations. During the off season, Magnar offered his services as a bodyguard or guide. The farm normally grew an abundance of rich grains, however, this particular year was significantly poor in harvest. Given the poor outcome, he was already doing his side job as a guide for his current employer, Loke, since there wasn't anything to harvest. Loke was a bit shorter than him but only two years his junior. Her light mint hair rested at the center of her back under the white hooded capelet she wore. She was determined but quite naïve about many common things. 

“We’ll never get to the front at this rate. Doesn’t that map of yours have any better routes that we can take around all of these people?” Loke was getting impatient. If they didn’t reach the front soon, it would be too late. She couldn't really tell how far back they were, but the noise made it sound like their destination couldn't be further away. 

“This was the shortest route. All the roads are filled with people, so no matter which way we go, we’ll get stuck. Just keep moving forward. We're almost there.” 

Magnar usually took just about any job he could when he couldn’t tend the fields, as long as it wasn't illegal or contradicted his morals. However, if the price offered was enough, he sometimes could bypass some hang ups he might have with the client and wherever they were going. 

He hadn’t pressed Loke into more information when she first came to him because of the hefty sum she dropped in his hands as a deposit with the condition that he not ask questions. She hired him to be her escort and protector while she searched for people important to her. He had no idea what kind of people these were at first, but she made him take her to the city awfully fast. From there, it wasn't hard to figure out the type of person she was looking for, even if she had been nothing but extremely vague. He spent the night in the tavern trying to get a solid clue about what was happening today, but never got more than it being one of them. He knew what they meant by them and technically, he was one of them too, but he would never let anyone around here know that, else he'd be the warm up presentation. But with all of today's fanfare, he had a strong suspicion at who the people Loke was looking for might actually be. If that were the case, then deep down he wanted to save whoever it was. Although, not nearly as much as Loke did. He valued is own life too much. “Even if we make it, I don’t know how you could even save them anyway.” 

“I don’t know. I don’t usually have to deal with too much direct confrontation, but if at all possible, I would like to save them.” 

The crowd was starting to quiet down, reducing the noise to simply mumblings and murmurs. No one wanted to budge as there were so many trying to get a good view. They still had about four to five rows of people to push through to reach the very front when they could hear the beginnings of a speech. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen. What you see upon my gallows are heathens that do not believe in the truth! They wish for our destruction and want to rule this world! My brothers and sisters, join with me in prayer so that their afterlife will be met with kindness and be merciful!” 

Loke was getting desperate and found it easier to push through while they all bowed in prayer, but Magnar stopped her and pushed her downwards. “What are you doing? We’re so close now!” Even though she was whispering, her desperation was crystal clear. 

“You’ll stand out if you move during a prayer vigil this large. Just trust me. I’m the guide, remember?” 

Loke clenched her fists , but bowed and mimicked their prayer movements. She was so close, but what Magnar said was right. If they were marked as heathens, they could just as easily be put up on the gallows and be made into tomorrow’s spectacle. Though, she didn’t know what Magnar’s belief system was, she was obvious enough herself that she half wondered if he would report her once he was paid for his work. She would rather not be publically marked a heretic for not having converted, especially since she had no intentions to ever do such a thing. 

Once the prayer was over, they were met with even more resistance as everyone pushed forward for a closer look. During the sudden rush of people, Magnar lost sight of Loke and she got carried forward with the crowd, her feet not even touching the ground anymore. By the time she got herself back to the ground and made any progress, it was too late. As she broke through the front line, the bodies suddenly dropped through the floor to the sound of cheers and joyous celebration noises. Not sure what to do, Loke simply froze in place and made a promise of offerings so that their souls would be taken care of since she doubted their bodies would be handled appropriately. 

Partially through Loke’s pleading to the gods, she felt someone grab her hand and pull her back into the crowd. Magnar could tell exactly what happened by her expression and pulled her hood over her face and pulled her back through the crowd and into a back alleyway. 

“Look, Loke, I’m sorry I couldn’t get you to them in time. But cities are dangerous for people like them. If they don’t convert, they’ll be killed. I don’t know what your relationship with them was, but if you don’t want to lose your own head, then we should go someplace else, quickly." He could tell she was in no condition to stay out in public without drawing attention to herself. 

Loke never bothered to lift her hood. She was thankful that the rain had begun once again to hide some of her tears, but she just couldn’t press on. Not at this moment. “Can I have a few minutes first? They were like family to me. I wouldn’t be who I am without them.” 

Magnar grunted, but turned his back and stood guard near the end of the alley so she could cry or whatever she needed to do. It was very obvious to him now that she had something to do with the Biyeho. And once he had gotten close enough to see who was chosen for today’s spectacle, he had a better idea of who Loke really was. He knew the victims as well. He hadn’t seen them in a number of years, but anyone that was a Biyeho knew who the head priests and priestesses of their region were. 

Loke spent most of her time in the alley thinking. Of course she continued to shed tears for the priest and priestess that had given her the tools to become who she had become to this day, but they didn’t have a lot of time. Though they had been distastefully murdered in the square, she still wanted to do all she could for their souls. Wiping her eyes she approached Magnar. “Do you think you could find out what they will do with their bodies?” 

Magnar was going to have a hard time trying to play the neutral party with her if she was going to be this forward about things. He had a good idea about what she wanted to do and suspected he was going to get roped into it. But he would be lying if he didn’t believe she wanted to do the right thing. “I think so. I’ll see what I can find out. For now, I’m taking you back to the inn. Stay there until I get back, ok? Everyone is already looking for anyone else that might be affiliated with them, especially because they were such a high rank.” 

Loke nodded, but something about his words caught her attention. The man at the square never said who they were besides just being heretics. How did Magnar know they were a high rank? She wanted to ask him, but held back. If there was such a heightened sense of awareness, now would most certainly be the time to be cautious. But when he comes back, she would need to explain who she was to find out if she could trust him to press forward. Though, if he were to actually turn her in instead of finding out what happened to the bodies, then she would be in danger simply sitting in the room. 

Once in the room, Magnar unloaded some of his traveling equipment, but kept a small sickle strapped to his back. He had once explained to Loke on their way to the capital that regular knives and swords didn’t seem to feel right and liked to use farming tools to protect himself and his clients. He set his map tube on the bed and headed back to the door. “Look, I know you’re thinking I might do something bad, but we have a contract and I intend on collecting on it. Just trust me, ok? Stay put. I can’t protect you if you go out on your own.” 

“Yeah, ok.” She might have picked someone a little too clever. She had hoped for someone a bit more on the stupid side, but at the same time, the stupid ones were the first to sound alarms. There was something about Magnar that felt a little different than the other people she tried to hire. Despite the large amount of money she offered, everyone had readily declined knowing they would need to go into Teo. Magnar didn't seem to think about it at all and signed her contract quite readily. She did her best to replay today's events in her mind, but it all came back to Magnar either being a convert or a Believer practicing in secret. But even converts in Teo weren't regarded well and were given similar treatment by the citizens. 

Magnar headed out, suspecting he would be followed. Loke didn’t seem nimble enough to follow him too stealthily, so when he hadn’t heard or seen anything out of sorts, he figured she actually listened to him and stayed behind. He didn't think she was the obedient type, but it made things easier. He made his way to the area of town that most of the pubs and taverns were located. He had only ventured to Teo every now and then, so a lot of things would often change. He didn’t have the same contacts, especially in the current religious climate. He had plenty of money from Loke’s down payment, but he hated to spend so much of it drinking in order to get information from drunk patrons. Instead, he walked back towards the square and lingered in some of the back alleys. 

His change in destination seemed to work in his favor. There were people cleaning the rotten vegetation that was brought by the crowd and under the gallows were a small team of people loading the two bodies into a cart of hay. If ever there was a chance, probing workers was always a simple task, if you knew how to do it right. 

“Hey guys! I saw what happened today. This them?” Magnar approached the cart casually and took a peek inside. 

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll go home. Don’t wanna join them up in the hills tonight, do ya?” 

“Sorry, I ain’t from ‘round here. But I hear there be lots of people like them in small towns east of da river.” The dumber he made himself sound, the easier this was going to be. He already learned they were going up into the hills. The hills were just outside the city proper, but many of the hills broke off into cliffs. How unceremonious to be tossed off the side of a cliff. Magnar didn’t think anyone deserved that kind of disrespect, regardless of how awful of a person they were. 

“Heh, yeah. Palen’s got his eyes set on that area. He’s gonna clean out the city then work on the eastern villages. There are fewer there than on this side.” 

“So they getting’ hung there soon. Must be rough to be so stubborn. They should just convert already. Am I right?” Magnar didn’t care too much about this information, but he would bet money that Loke would want to know and he wasn't opposed to more money. He wondered if he could squeeze some more out of her with that tidbit. 

“Hey kid, you wanna join us? These two are a little heavy and we only got the two of us.” 

Jackpot. “Sure, I mean, if your bosses don’t mind me joinin’ in on that.” 

“They don’t need to know. I don’t think they’d care too much either. Hop in! Sorry you have to ride with these two, but there’s no room up front for you. Just us.” 

Magnar suspected Loke would have acted on her own by now, but as long as she was staying put, he had nothing to worry about with her tonight. He climbed in the back of the wagon with a faked, excited smile. “Ain’t no problem. What’s a body going to do to me anyway?” 

“Haha! Good answer, kid. I like you.” 

You won’t like me in a little while, Magnar thought. “Think I could get a job with you guys after this? My crops ain’t doin’ so good this year and I could use a few extra taak.” 

“We’ll see. But we ain't payin' you for tonight. Call it on the job trainin'.” The two men closed the back of the cart with the two bodies and Magnar and sat on the front bench behind the two horses that were pulling the cart. Magnar felt extreme sadness as they rode through the town and started up the hills. The rising night didn't help that feeling either. Both of them looked so much at peace and despite the horrible end to their lives, they looked like they slipped off in their sleep. He gave a lot of thought to his next course of action, but while it wasn't the most morally correct, he knew what he needed to do. 

At the top of one of the many hills they already climbed, the cart stopped and the men came around to open the back. Leaving the bodies, they took Magnar to the edge of the cliff. 

“Kid, take a peek down there. This is one of the tallest cliffs we have. Can’t even tell you how many bodies we dumped down there, but there is going to be two more joining them. Since they’re heretics, they’re not permitted the same kind of fancy funerals we have. We just toss them down here and let the animals get them.” 

Magnar couldn’t see much, but he could feel a lot of emotion coming from the bottom of the hill. There had to be countless wandering souls down there. It almost made him ill to think about it. Unable to control the anger and the sadness welling up inside of him because of the horrible treatment of innocent people, he steeled himself and moved forward with his plan. First, he chuckled and took a few steps backwards. “I’m sure your god is pleased with this kind of offering.” 

The two men paused with a brief moment of confusion. “Offerings are something those heretics do to their false gods. And we can’t let any of them continue to spout their lies about the land.” 

The second man pulled out a sword and started towards Magnar. “So, heathen, if you think you aren’t going to join them, you are mistaken. Tonight you’ll get to watch them meet the fate that they have chosen.” 

“Fate is already laid before us!” Magnar pulled out his sickle and while running up along the body of the man closest to the edge, he pushed off his chest to flip behind the other man that was holding the sword. The man he had used as a spring board staggered backwards towards the edge where he fought for his balance. Unable to regain his footing, he disappeared over the cliff's edge and only his screams in an otherwise quiet night could be heard as he fell into nothingness. 

“So, you’re one of them, aren’t you, kid? What you just did was a serious crime, and I’ll have you join him momentarily.” He charged at Magnar with his sword. 

Magnar wasn’t one for traditional sword fighting. He only knew how to farm and how to dodge sharp things flying at him. He was used to tools breaking and after the end of a hoe hit him square in the forehead once, he quickly learned how tododge his father’s worn down tools. 

The swordsman was only getting more frustrated at Magnar’s dodges. He moved too unconventionally and was having a difficult time predicting where he should swing next. As Magnar saw him getting heated, he switched his hand position on the sickle and after the next dodge to the inside, swiped upward with the blade facing outward, roughly slashing the man. 

“Sorry, but all these people deserve better. I hope your god forgives you, because I’m pretty sure our gods won’t.” While the man was bleeding profusely and barely hanging on to consciousness, he staggered forward with one last downward slash. Magnar easily side stepped him and took the sword from his hand. ”You won’t need this where you are going. Give your friend my regards.” 

The swordsman couldn’t understand what Magnar said next as he was drug to the edge of the cliff and pushed off the side. Magnar’s words were an old language that wasn't used outside of Biyeho. He only knew a few words himself, but it all he needed to know to tell the gods he was offering something to them. He had offered the men to the god of justice in hopes that he would be forgiven for his actions. 

Not wasting any time, Magnar separated the cart from the horses and hid it in a densely wooded area, back a little from the cliff. He tethered the other horse to the one he was about to ride back into town. He was disappointed at himself for not bringing his map tube, but he memorized the route with ease and would just write it out later. He had to get Loke back up that hill quickly, as there was little time before midnight. 

Back in the inn, Loke was at her wits end. Magnar had been gone for several hours and it was already longer than she expected. She no longer was worried that he would turn her in and was convinced he wasn’t one of those Tumben folk. She still wasn’t sure about his care free attitude and though she mostly trusted him, she didn’t entirely appreciate it. It felt cocky and she wasn’t sure she liked it. For now, she blamed it on him being a farmer. As it got closer to midngiht, she got more and more worried about him still not arriving. 

She needed a distraction and she retreated into the comfort of the book she had placed on the desk. She only carried one text, but it was the most valuable to her and probably the heaviest and largest in existence. It contained the essential knowledge of the Biyeho. All of the histories and stories were contained within the thick covers, as well as several parchments and bookmarks making it even bulkier. She never let this book out of her grasp, even as far as to use it as a pillow, should she need to. While she wasn’t remarkably strong, physically, carrying this particular book had given her some endurance benefits. 

Partially into one of the chapters of the text, Loke jumped when the door opened, pulling her back into reality. She was relieved Magnar came back without someone to arrest her. “We don’t have a lot of time. We need to go, now. Do you have everything you need?” 

Loke nodded and grabbed a small sack and her book, hiding them under the cloak she quickly threw on. “I take it you found them, then?” 

“Yeah. And when you’re all done doing what you need to do, we’re going to have a chat.” 

Loke wasn’t surprised. She figured he probably wanted to quit but was kind enough not to abandon her at a terrible hour in a city where she wasn't safe. She could give him enough for his services and try to find someone else, but that could wait till morning. Finding a quality guide and guard was not something you find at this hour. 

They mounted the horses and Loke followed Magnar into the hills. Magnar briefly told her about how he came to acquire the bodies and apologized for getting carried away, leaving out the parts that would expose his beliefs. “You need to do this at midnight, right? We don't have much time left to get ready.” 

Loke was certain he was involved in the old religion at this point. She was fairly sure earlier, but this sealed her suspicions. “Then you know what to do, right?” 

“Not really, but I know enough to get the bodies ready for you.” 

“That’s good enough. Just make sure the priest is to the left of the priestess. And if you need to say anything else, do it now or wait until it's over.” 

Since he had nothing useful to add, Magnar struggled to bring the bodies out into the clearing under the cloudy sky. The clouds would sometimes allow a little light from the crescent moon to shine down, but overall, it was mostly cloudy with a few drops of rain falling from time to time. He placed the bodies beside each other and placed their hands at their sides, palms to the sky. Meanwhile, Loke was vigorously mixing some herbs and oils. He had only seen this done twice, each time was one of his parents, but he never needed to assist. 

Once everything was ready, she knelt to the side of the High Priest of Teo. Magnar knelt opposite her, beside the priestess. Loke waited in silence for a few moments and once the change in day was upon them, she began her ceremony. Magnar watched her carefully as she picked up a long needle and wiped the oil and herb mixture across it with a delicately embroidered cloth. He had no idea Loke was carrying such things, as her luggage didn’t seem any larger than his own. He also never understood the importance of any of the details, but never bothered to question it. 

She spoke softly and smoothly, but Magnar understood very few of the words. After a deep breath, Loke gently pushed the needle into the priest’s torso, just below where his heart would be. She continued chanting and looked to the sky briefly before removing the needle and continuing her chant as she wiped it once again with the infused cloth. Once her chant had ended she turned the needle, thicker end towards Magnar and nodded at him. She pointed at the location on herself, but nodded towards the priestess. Once the ceremony began, only words to the gods were to be spoken and all present must participate in some fashion. That was especially important when asking a soul to be reborn. 

Magnar suspected as much and cautiously took the needle from Loke and waited for her to begin her chants anew before proceeding. He had a sense of what he had to do by watching her and was surprised that it met no resistance as it moved into the priestess’ body. He followed Loke’s motions and removed the needle when it was indicated that he do so. Loke held her hand out for the needle and he returned it to her, as she had given it to him. She wiped it once more and placed it back at her side. She leaned over and grabbed Magnar’s hands and held them over the two bodies as she offered up their souls for cleansing and reincarnation. She also asked for Magnar’s transgressions to be purified so that he would not suffer as a result. Once she let go of his hands she fell backwards with a heavy sigh. 

Relieved it seemed to be over, Magnar leaned back to rest in a far more graceful manner than Loke did. "I know I'm not supposed to ask questions, but what is all that actually for?" He pointed to the cloth with the oils and herbs and the needle still beside her. 

"I'll answer those. It's mostly symbolic, but the oil is from the lifeflower and the bits inside are inedible herbs from some form of nightshade. The needle pierces the capsule of the soul and because of the oils, it easily makes its way towards the next life. Also, supposedly the god of rebirth enjoys nightshades, so it can't hurt to offer that too. But," She paused and sighed heavily. "that was exhausting. You did pretty well. These aren’t the only two souls here tonight, are they?” 

Magnar shook his head. “No, down that cliff over there. I can’t tell how many, but it looked like quite a lot. They have been dumping people there for quite a while.” 

Loke pulled herself up and frowned as she looked over the side of the cliff. “There are about seven hundred sixty four souls suffering below. I can’t possibly do anything about them tonight.” 

How did she even get that number? “Hey, Loke, we need to talk. Up here is pretty private, so I think it’s better than the inn.” 

“You’re right. And after what just happened, I suspect you’re going to quit then report me for a bounty, so I should prepare for my own public hanging.” She returned to her place beside the priest and started cleaning up. 

After he just participated in the same ceremony? Was this girl insane? “No, you don’t need to worry about that. I mean, um, how do I say this?" He scratched the back of his head briefly. "I also knew these two. I didn’t know they were the ones everyone was clamoring about until today happened, but I mean…” 

“Magnar, are you saying you believe. In them, I mean.” She let the small bag slip from her hands. She had her suspicions but was never entirely sure. A feeling of relief washed over her. At least she knew she wasn't going to be turned in, but there was still the question of him sticking around. 

“I do. Yeah. They came to a small village near my farm once in a while for harvest blessings and stuff. We always had good harvests when they came to visit. I knew they were important, and everyone loved them. They were very kind. They didn’t deserve this and I couldn’t let them be tossed down there like garbage.” He nodded to the cliff behind Loke. 

“Then that makes this easier to talk about. In Holom City, things aren’t as bad as they are out here. We aren’t being hunted and persecuted, but tensions between religions are rising. I wanted to come seek their advice on something, but it seems I was too late. They gave me most of my training growing up. My parents died when I was small, so to me, they were like my parents.” Her smile was bittersweet. It was clear she had fond memories, but there seemed to be a lot of pain mixed in. 

“Are you a priestess, then? I don’t think you could have done all this otherwise.” He knew he couldn't have done anything like this. Though he found it awkward to hold a conversation over the bodies and stood up to sit beside Loke. 

Loke watched him as he moved to sit beside her. “I am. Technically a high priestess, but I spend more of my time researching historical texts. There are a number of them that are suggested to be missing stories, so to speak, but trying to parse through them is generally my job. As well as the usual rituals and whatnot.” 

“Explains the language skills.” Magnar looked down at the two bodies. “So, what do we do with them now?” 

Loke stood up and brushed the grass off of herself. “We burn them. Their souls have been purified for reincarnation, so they are just empty vessels. We are to burn them so that their bodies can return to the earth. Nature needs to run its course. Although…” Loke trailed off and looked over the cliff one more time, her brow furrowed in thought. “…I think it is best to save that until tomorrow. I need to look into something first, but I don’t want to alert anyone of anything just yet.” 

“That could be hard; I kinda added to the pile.” 

“Yes, I know. I felt their souls down there as well. Their god has forsaken them, but we can give them reprieve. Besides that, they will probably not figure it out right away. Do you think we can stay safe for one more night?” 

Magnar didn’t want to get in over his head. He had already done quite a lot beyond his initial contract and hiding two bodies for another day until she did whatever she was planning to do with them was going to be putting himself at a greater risk. “Look, I don’t know if…” 

“You don’t think you can stay involved with all this, right? I figured as much. I can pay you for tonight and all your extra work and you can head back to finding a different job tomorrow. I’ll find some way to take care of this. Though, if something were to happen to me as a result, please travel to Holom and inform the priests there so that they can appoint a new high priestess.” 

Magnar ruffled his hair with his hands in frustration. “Ok, I’ll help you here for one more day. But I am raising my fee a lot. This is getting way too dangerous.” 

Loke huffed. “Deal.” She didn’t like it, but at least she would have a chance of surviving tomorrow. Otherwise, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to press forward and her life would end here, largely unfulfilled. 

“Let’s hide them and get back to the inn. Obviously, you need to rest and I need to secure a new job after this one is done.” 

Even though they went to bed so late, Magnar was up with the sun and it didn’t look like Loke was getting up anytime soon, so now was a good time to do some things in town before she woke up and decided she had better things for him to do. Initially, he was going to see if he could find himself another job, but somehow he found himself shopping for traveling supplies and extra sheets of parchment and ink. He had been gone a lot longer than he anticipated, but when he got back to the inn he was still somehow surprised Loke was awake and very involved in her book. 

“Hey, you’re actually awake.” Magnar dropped the supplies on his bed. 

Loke barely glanced up from the page she was reading. “I didn’t think you were coming back. Weren’t you going to find a new job? Your secret is in danger with me around, isn’t it?” 

Magnar shrugged. “It isn’t like we don’t have a similar secret. Besides, if I just let you out on your own, you’ll die way too easily.” 

“Probably. But sometimes that is what one must do." Loke turned the page before stopping to actually see what it was Magnar brought back. "But if you are going to continue to be my escort, then I suppose I should come clean about the whole task.” Loke closed her book. “I’m seeking out other Biyeho leaders and hopefully we can figure something out to solve some of these genocidal issues. Obviously we can’t stand against them in a war type effort, but there needs to be some sort of solution. There aren’t a lot of us left outside Holom.” 

“You’re right that there aren’t too many of us left." Magnar sat on the bed beside his spoils of the morning. "But I’m sure there are plenty of people like me, too. You know, fake it up front and make inconspicuous shrines and offerings that way. There's a way to find others I've heard about. What else do you need for tonight? It sounds like we’re going to have to make a run for it after whatever you got planned.” 

“The only way to purify the souls for rebirth is to release them and burn the shell. Those victims at the bottom of the cliff have already had their souls released, though in a very brutal way. The best we can do is make an offering and try to free them. The priest and priestess from last night – we’ll have to put them down there as well.” 

“Shouldn’t we have just done that last night?” 

“I didn’t want their bodies to be ravaged by animals. So, basically, we need some good fire making items.” 

That was a rather weak reason to Magnar, but he didn’t have much of a retort after that. However, he started to think about what she was aiming to do in a practical manner. A fire that large would take some sort of strong ignition and most certainly get them caught if they lingered too long. He was right to assume they would need to leave quickly. 

“Oh, I forgot. If we could find at least one more person, the ceremony would flow a bit better. I would love more than that, but I realize we're limited on resources. Though, that’s where I’m a little at a loss. After yesterday, I don’t think it would be easy to find anyone.” 

“Like I mentioned, I've heard of a way about how to find people, but it is a bit of a long shot. Out in the small villages, we often would use a code to let each other know who we were. I don’t know if that phrase has made its way here, to Teo, but it might be worth a shot.” He was skeptical. No intelligent Biyeho would voluntarily come to Teo without a good reason. 

Loke sighed. “I think it might be our only chance. We certainly don’t have a lot of time. What is this phrase that you use?” 

Magnar looked away with a bit of embarrassment and spoke in a small voice. “It’s pretty stupid, I mean, it doesn't really sound stupid in the village, but in the city…” 

“It doesn’t matter how stupid it sounds. Remember, I’m paying you to be my guide because you know things in this country that I don’t." 

“The phrase is ‘I heard the chipmunks ate all the wheat this year.’ Like I said, it sounds pretty stupid to toss about in a city like this.” Magnar still was looking away from her. 

Loke put her finger to her chin. “It does sound very much like a village kind of thing. But do chipmunks actually eat wheat?” She really had no idea about how farming worked or what animals ate. 

“Sometimes, but they're not usually a problem. But city people don’t really know the difference, anyway. But the difficult part is getting it into a normal conversation and hoping the right person overhears it.” Magnar felt that it was a really desperate move and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. 

“Then let us go to one of those busy places and try to dig up a few people.” She was already standing and collecting herself. 

“Taverns and pubs are the best option. You sure you want to go to one of those? You don’t strike me as the type…” 

Loke glared at Magnar briefly. Though it was definitely not her place to hang out, she didn’t like letting him know he could easily guess so much about her. “There is a lot you probably don’t know about me. Shall we head out?” 

The tavern they chose had a good amount of people inside, though it wasn't exactly the busiest time of the day, either. Loke was clearly outside of her comfort zone and Magnar was itching to poke fun at her a little about it, but decided not to for the time being. 

“Are you going to hire me beyond Caax?” Magnar figured he could talk business vaguely enough, but at some point he should be able to manage to work the key words into the conversation. He just hoped it wouldn't be a waste. 

“I’ll think about it. We would renegotiate your rate since you wouldn’t be a guide anymore, just a guard. But do you really want me to?” 

“Given your knack for stirring up problems, it probably would be too dangerous for you alone and I wouldn't want to pass up a good financial opportunity.” 

“We’ll see. So, besides tagging along with me, what else is it that you do?” Loke was concerned about her ability to hold a simple conversation and if she sound out of place. She wanted to transition the topic so that she could use the code line, but she wasn’t sure whether she was properly handling it or not. 

Loke’s conversation skills weren’t as bad as he expected them to be, enough that he could tell where she was trying to go with her question. There seemed to be a subtlety that she was missing.“Farming, mostly. This year’s wheat crops aren’t doing all that well, though.” 

Loke fidgeted under the table, playing with the fingered edges of her fingerless gloves. Even she realized this was an easy opening for her and she didn't want to fail at something so simple. “Oh, that’s too bad. I didn’t realize you farmed wheat. I heard the chipmunks ate all the wheat this year.” She didn’t expect anyone to notice it, let alone approach them. It would be too convenient. 

Magnar had been watching her carefully and he didn't miss the subtle movements her body was making, assuming it was her way of actually being nervous. He'd seen her determined and upset, but even through all the actual dangerous things, she hadn't seemed nervous at all. As he was about to reply, a voice cut in to provide an answer to Loke's comment. He was too busy noticing Loke's anxiety that he didn't even realize that someone else approached the table. 

“They may have eaten most, but some seemed to have been harvested in good health.” The woman that approached the table placed her hand on the edge and leaned into the table, bringing her face closer to both of theirs. Loke shifted backwards slightly. She never liked people being that close to her. 

“Unfortunately, my fields haven’t been so lucky.” Magnar didn’t miss a beat. He kept focused on the woman's face and Loke, since if he deviated, his gaze would only find the woman's tan chest in his view. At a glance, he could tell Loke was still trying to keep up and decided to take on the initiative and drive the conversation with this stranger, but carefully. 

“That is unfortunate. My name is Winter." She leaned back a little, amused at the faint pink color crossing Magnar's face and at how put off Loke seemed to be. "I’m sorry for interrupting your conversation, but I can’t resist whenever I hear someone talking about the crops this year. I have a few friends that haven’t been to the farmland and always were curious to know what it was like to work the wheat farms. Would you be interested?” 

“Well, that depends on my client. I’m just the guide.” Magnar looked at Loke to try and gauge her reaction. 

Loke was hesitant. If it was a hunt for “heretics,” they could be at great risk, but if it was actually the people they were looking for, then she couldn’t turn down this chance. She knew she could stand to be a bit more cautious, but if Magnar wasn't opposing it from the start, then she thought it might be alright. “I think it would be alright for my guide to speak with your friends.” 

“Great!” Winter smiled and stood up. “I will try to find them and let them know. Do you know where the orphanage is, just north of the city wall?” 

Magnar nodded. He knew of two orphanages in the city. One, south of the wall was where the Tumben set up a place for orphaned children. Many of the kids were orphaned from the various wars and sought refuge in Caax, but others were from families that were publicly executed. The other orphanage, the one to the north, was an old but recently abandoned building. Traditionally, it was where the Biyeho used to raise orphans until the recent push to eradicate the Biyeho. It had been raided and while the adults had perished trying to protect the orphans, the children were collected and taken to the southern orphanage. But it was a good meeting place when you wanted to keep something quiet since no one bothered to go there. 

“Good! We’ll be there in two hours.” Winter got up and headed out like she parted with long time friends. 

“She was quite… energetic.” Magnar didn’t quite have the right words to describe her. But given all the grim attitudes running through much of Caax, it was quite the stark contrast – much like the contrast of her white hair and dark skin. 

“But she seemed to know what we meant, right? I’m looking forward to meeting her and her friends later.” Loke seemed to feel a bit more relaxed, but couldn't help but also feel some sort of excitement. 

Loke and Magnar didn’t say very much after that and finished their food mostly in silence. They didn’t want to risk too much after this conversation, so they kept their conversation simple and Loke just let Magnar tell her all about farming tools. It wasn’t very interesting at all to her and she ended up tuning most of it out. Magnar knew he should just keep going even if she wasn’t paying attention just to keep up appearances. Having her talk about anything she was into would only end up with both of them on the gallows for sure. 

Loke followed Magnar through the city towards the north wall until he stopped with the orphanage visible off in the distance. He turned to confirm one last time with Loke to make sure this was a risk she wanted to take, but the determined expression on her face was more than enough to confirm it. She knew it could easily be a rouse, using a building that was once important to them. But she was going to go, no matter what the risk. She had to find more believers and hopefully ones that could lead her to more priests. 

Once at the building, Magnar gestured for Loke to stay where she was while he looked around. He didn’t want her too far out of his sight, but he wanted to check for obvious traps. After all, if he let her get hurt or taken here, he wouldn’t get paid – or something else could happen that would be far worse. 

“I think it should be fine, let’s just go inside.” Loke was getting impatient. She appreciated him checking around, but whatever was going to happen here, was going to happen. They came too far to not go inside. 

Magnar frowned and grunted his disapproval. But he didn’t find anything suspicious, so he went back to Loke before going towards the door. “I didn’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t something. Just stick close.” He worried that she was never going to regard her own safety. 

“Yeah, fine, just open the door already!” She lightly bounced with anticipation. 

Magnar opened the door to a seemingly empty room. The windows were mostly broken and the light filtering in highlighted cobwebs, dust, and plenty of broken artifacts. It looked like a regular foyer and nothing in here gave any insight about the gods that often would be worshiped in orphanages. Though, Loke did spot a small, dusty alcove to the east that looked like it may have been a shrine at one point. 

It seemed that they were the only two people inside. Loke frowned, feeling disappointed. “Are we early?” 

“No, but I’m starting to think we were being set up. If you want, we can still get out of here and you can look for some people somewhere else.” Something didn't feel quite right to Magnar. 

“No. They should be here somewhere.” Loke already started wandering around, looking at things in the room. Broken ceramics, dirty toys, a pile of scorched texts were all things she noticed as she walked around the perimeter. The books broke her heart, as she could tell they were important stories to share with the children. She noticed one book in particular that was mostly still intact. She bent down to pick it up and the edges of the pages crumbled to her touch. It was a children’s story about how the goddess of protection had come to visit a family that was being antagonized by the god of destruction. No matter how much he tried to destroy the family’s home, lands, and possessions, the family themselves were protected and able to remain strong because of the goddess, despite what was thrown at them. It was a wonderful tale. 

While Loke stopped to get sentimental, Magnar looked for something more significant. He didn’t see anything leading to a hidden attic or any loose boards to signify a basement. But the shrine in the east wall also caught his attention. Before Palen’s crazy persecution of everyone that wasn’t Tumben, he had a similar one at his home. But something didn’t seem right with this one and he couldn’t quite place it. “Hey, Loke, when you’re done playing in the dirt, can you come look at this? Something doesn’t feel right.” 

She made a face that somewhat showed a little irritation, but she walked over to join him, keeping the book with her. She looked over the shrine and while it looked fairly standard, she could also tell something wasn’t exactly normal there. Loke reached out to feel along the wood of the platform when she heard a voice call out behind them. 

“So you guys came. Sorry about the delay, but we had to make sure you guys were legit. We were watching you for a while. To be honest, I’m actually surprised you came. I’ll introduce you to my friend first. He’ll be your guide after that. I don’t quite know all the details about what goes on, since I don’t believe like you guys, but I don’t like what those other jerks are doing either. Everything they’re doing goes against Tumben teachings too. Anyway, he’s by the back door. Follow me!” Winter seemed a lot more energetic here than in the tavern, but she was still cautious as she led them to the back door of the building. In the shadows, a small, cloaked figure leaned against the wall, but anxiety seemed to radiate from his figure. “This is my friend Blu! I don’t wanna know your names, to stay safe, you know. So, I’ll be heading out here. But if you hurt my friend, I’ll find you myself.” 

“Warning noted.” Magnar watched Winter leave and noticed Loke staring at the figure intently. 

He was a tiny bit taller than Loke, but not anywhere as tall as Magnar. He had a juvenile feel about him, but he waited until Winter was gone before stepping forward and pulling off his hood. “As Winter said, my name is Blu. I heard that you were having a problem with chipmunks.” 

“You could say that.” Magnar figured even if this kid was dangerous, he could take him, easily. He wondered if he was called Blu after his light blue hair and deep blue eyes. Did he even need to wear blue, too? 

Loke was a bit more comfortable with Blu right from the start than Magnar. “I was wondering if it would be alright to speak frankly here, today. There are some complex things that I think we may discuss, but this place doesn’t feel very comfortable.” She was, however disappointed it was only one person. She expected more when Winter talked about having friends. 

“Yes, but let’s go somewhere we can relax a little more.” Blu walked past them into the open room and towards the small shrine. He ran his fingers along the bottom edge of a small lip on the platform and the entire platform clicked and popped open slightly. Blu lifted it, revealing a rather tight space, but large enough for someone to take the ladder down. “Please go ahead of me. I will make sure it is closed properly.” 

Loke didn’t hesitate and started down the ladder. Magnar was already set to argue with her but she was moving faster than he ever thought she could move and rushed to catch up to her. The ladder was fairly long and the tunnel was fairly dark – only to become darker after Blu closed the hatch. Loke finally reached the bottom and stepped backwards out of the way so Magnar wouldn’t step on her. Magnar did much of the same and backed into her, having her stumble onto the ground. Blu reached the bottom and used some sort of device to light a torch further down the tunnel. 

“What was that?” Magnar didn’t really pay much attention to Loke, but focused on the device in Blu’s hand. 

“I will explain in a bit. Follow me.” Blu walked towards the light and grabbed the lit torch off the wall and continued forward. 

The tunnel seemed to go on rather far, but eventually led to a large metal door. Blu opened it and held it open for the other two. The room inside was rather spacious, but there wasn’t anyone inside, just the three of them. There were several benches and Loke had already made herself comfortable on one. “Blu, this place is pretty amazing. It has plenty of room for most rituals and ceremonies, but being underground has a lot of limitations.” Loke looked around with amazement. “Loke, you should wait until…” Magnar was cut off by Blu and virtually ignored as they began their conversation. Obviously not having any real importance to what was being discussed, he wandered over to a bench he noticed in the dim light. “The priest and priestess that were unfortunately hung yesterday often would hold meetings and blessings here once things started to get bad. Were you familiar with them?” Blu's stance showed that he was still anxious, but he did speak smooth enough to hide it. 

Loke nodded as she gave Blu her attention. “Yes, they were responsible for much of my education. It was rather heartbreaking to witness…” She began to break down. While she had a few moments the day before to release her emotions, she still was very upset by the entire affair. “I’m sorry. If we could move forward.” 

Seeing Loke visibly upset made Blu fidget. “Right. So, um, there are a handful of believers in the city, but right now, most are hiding as much as possible. Even Winter had to try exceptionally hard to get me to come meet you. It’s really risky.” 

“I’m glad she did. I actually came to Caax to try and find other Biyeho leaders. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been terribly easy. Though, I will be leaving Teo tonight and may need to leave Caax altogether. But I was hoping to find some others to help with a purification ritual before we leave.” 

“Are you referring to the cliff up in the hills?” 

“Yes, how did you know?" Loke couldn't hide her surprise. 

Blu frowned. "Everyone knows that's where the bodies are being dumped." 

And no one was doing anything about it? Loke couldn't believe that everyone would simply ignore it. "Last night I also purified the high priest and priestess, but their shells need to be returned to the earth.” 

Blu remained silent, thinking carefully about Loke’s aims before replying. “I think I should be able to help tonight, but I doubt anyone else would take the risks. However, in return, I am going to ask that you let me leave Teo with you.” 

It was Loke’s turn to be silent and think carefully. She was paying Magnar to protect her, but she couldn’t really afford to pay for his protection too. But it would be a relief to travel with yet another Believer. It was a lot of pros and cons to evaluate and she actually wanted to get Magnar’s thoughts on this. “If you don’t mind, may I speak to Magnar about this, briefly?” 

Blu nodded and Loke walked over to the bench where Magnar had wandered to get comfortable on. 

“You guys done chatting?” He yawned and rubbed one of his eyes. His lack of sleep was catching up with him. 

“Probably soon. But I wanted to talk to you about something first.” Loke crossed her arms. 

“Aren’t I just the muscle after we leave Caax?” He raised his arms to stretch. 

Loke thought he would have been somewhat pleased to be consulted. “If that is how you want to think of yourself. Blu has offered to help with the ceremony tonight, but…” 

“But there’s a catch, right?” Magnar sat up straighter. 

Loke nodded, “Yes. He will help us if he can travel along side us. However, I don’t expect you to offer the same protection as me. Though, I still need to explain that to him as well…” she trailed off, still wondering if it would be wise for Blu to join them. 

“If he can take care of himself, I don’t really care.” He really didn’t care if Blu came or not, but he felt like something about him was off. He probably would give him extra attention instead anyway, simply because of the feeling he got from Blu. 

Returning to Blu, Loke stood across from him and subconsciously played with her fingers before moving her hair behind her ear. “We can’t guarantee your safety and that you’ll be protected, but if you wish to travel with us, then you are welcome to. Our journey has no definite destination and may end at any time. Right now, I’m looking to find out the status of Biyeho leaders since things aren't going well for us.” 

Without hesitation, Blu agreed to her terms. 

Relieved, Loke took his hands in hers. “We’ll meet at the cliff around 11 tonight. We have some early preparations, but the ritual will begin at midnight. I suppose it’s a little late, but I am Loke, High Priestess of Holom City, capital city of Holom." She pointed to the bench behind her. "Over there is Magnar, farmer from western Caax and my hired guide and bodyguard. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you today and I look forward to this evening.” 

Blu pulled his hands away from Loke with great haste. “H-high Priestess? Why would you come to such a dangerous place in your position? How have you managed to not be discovered?” 

Blu’s insinuations weren’t far off. “Magnar has helped me when I started to behave inappropriately for this society. But I can’t evaluate our status from Holom. And it will be nice to travel with someone else I can share communication.” She offered a smile. 

Blu’s anxious aura returned but he already decided he would travel with them. He didn’t think he was worthy enough to have spoken so plainly to a high priestess and was regretting not having a proper introduction before their conversation. “It’s starting to get late. I have a few things to arrange before I join you tonight and I’m sure you have some things to prepare. I will show you an easier way out.” 

Loke started to follow Blu, but noticed Magnar had dozed off so she went back and gently shook his shoulder. 

"Don't even try to be friendly at this stage." He instinctively grabbed her hand firmly before he had come around and realized what was going on. Magnar noticed the look of terror on Loke's face and quickly released her hand. "I wasn't referring to you. I must have been dreaming about something." 

Loke didn't say anything about it and continued to wearily glance his way. He apologized profusely as they caught up to Blu and were led out a different door and down a different tunnel. The end of the tunnel led to the basement of what sounded like a pub. There were casks filling the room, which could only be assumed as wine. They parted ways briefly and would reunite later that night. 

Loke and Magnar had gone to the cliff long before Blu was to meet them to set up as much as they could ahead of time. After sprinkling lamp oil onto the priest and priestess, they had added them to the rest of the bodies they were intending to burn that night. They had thrown a significant amount of lamp oil (or at least, as much as they could get without drawing suspicion) down on top of them as well. Back at the top of the cliff, Loke had set up a few candles along the edge and set up a few small dishes with the same herb/oil mixture from the night before. She set up a few other dishes with incense which was mostly to mask the smell, which she already started burning. She spread some loose dirt in an area between the incense and pulled the needle from the spine of her book. She began to draw complicated designs into the dirt and was still drawing when Blu arrived. When Loke finished, she placed Magnar and Blu at particular places, had them kneel, then she knelt between them to form a bit of a triangle. She gave each of them a candle and asked them to close their eyes. She went through a long series of rhythmic chants and periodically would sprinkle herbs and oils over the design. When she finished her chants she asked the boys to open their eyes and carefully stand in a way to not interrupt the design or candles. She spaced everyone evenly at the edge and they took a candle in each hand and one by one dropped them over the edge onto the bodies at the bottom of the cliff. Once the oil ignited, Loke said a few more chants before officially finishing the ritual. Once they finished, they quickly grabbed all the dishes and packed up their items and quickly took off through the hills before someone came to investigate. 

The trio had run as far as they could through the night and partially through the next day. Magnar carried Loke for a portion of it when she couldn’t keep up, but they were likely still being pursued and couldn’t afford to stop and camp. Eventually, they went off the main road and tried to find a good place to stop for a while. It was still before noon when they stopped, but they were exhausted and could use the rest. There was nothing but wheat fields up ahead where the woods thinned out. They were aiming to get to the port in the south east to head to the country of Nich. Nich was a country where the Biyeho took the largest toll after the war. It was a sparse landscape, but after the war, many villages were abandoned and those that survived flocked to the few larger towns and cities where they had nothing to offer and still live in severe poverty. Most of the villages that housed the strongest Believers were among those that had been abandoned, so any priests and priestesses that have survived are not in any particular known location. 

“Tomorrow morning, we should head out early and get as far as we can. I’m not sure if we’re still being pursued, but it would be best if we could get out of Caax as fast as possible.” Magnar was getting materials for a fire set up so that when the sun went down, they could keep warm for the night. 

Loke didn't know how far they had to go, but getting as much rest now would be for the best. She hated that Magnar had to keep carrying her, but she also realized how useless she actually was in times like this. 


	2. Chapter 2 - Leaving Caax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having escaped Teo, the group of three head through Caax towards the country of Nich.

Loke was too exhausted to move. She just didn’t have the physical stamina to keep up with the other two and plopped onto the ground, staring at the sky. She didn’t care what kind of sticks and leaves and other things that were under her. “I don’t understand why there is such resentment against us. It isn’t like we care what they do. Well, there are a few that do, but they’re a bit disproportionate in their offerings.” 

“How do you mean disproportionate?” Blu was raised in an orphanage that only touched on a few simple details, so he wasn’t as educated on all the aspects of the Biyeho. He mostly knew the basics and that if you could think of it, there was a god for it. He wasn’t aware of the minutia and intricate details.

“There are gods for just about everything. We’re a natural based faith, so we look to the god of agriculture for our farms, god of the heavens for weather, god of health for health, etcetera, etcetera. But instead of focusing on the natural gods that keep everything in balance, there are some people that neglect the natural teachings and make their offerings to the god of war or the god of prosperity. The gods themselves aren’t inherently against the natural order, but for those that are pushing for a conflict where there is none, then it becomes a problem. If someone in poverty wants to ask the god of prosperity to help them improve their conditions compared to someone that already has more means than the rest of the people asking to be more prosperous. After I rest a while, it would be best to make an offering to the god of travelers and the god of the seas for safe passage to Nich.”

Blu nodded, trying to absorb her lesson. “So, does Magnar also believe in the gods as we do?”

Loke glanced over at Magnar, who wasn’t quite in range to hear them, but she could see him hacking at some short shrubs that looked like their lifespan had passed. “I believe so. He comes from a farming family, so I would imagine they had a shrine to the god of agriculture in their home. I don’t know what their specific offerings would be, but he would have asked for a healthy crop. Similar offerings could have been made for other gods, depending on the conditions for that year, like in a drought or excessive rain. Which gods have you more familiarity with?”

“At the orphanage, the shrine that led to the tunnel was usually full of offerings to the gods of protection and happiness. Some kids would pray to the god of families, but most of us just wanted to be happy and felt like a big family on our own. After the orphanage was raided and we were taken to the southern orphanage, most converted to the new religion out of fear, but a few of us just went along with it, following what we could on our own.”

“I’m sure the gods have taken notice upon you and you will one day be rewarded. You know, you don’t need to continue with us if you don’t want to. It might be a little dangerous once we leave Caax.”

“A little dangerous may be an understatement.” Magnar had returned with an armful of sticks and twigs. “I have a feeling Loke is going to get us all killed at some point. Oh, and I’m adding all this labor to my bill, too.”  
Loke forced herself to sit upright. “I have no intentions on getting us all killed.” She pretended not to hear his last statement.

“Intentions are one thing. But if we’re under ambush or something, what do you have to try and fight back? It isn’t exactly time for some sort of ritual offering in hopes something will work out. I might be carrying some farm tools, but they’re pretty useful in that situation.”

“I can help.” Blu was a little hesitant to speak up, but he pulled out a firearm of some sort. “This was one of the things left behind during the purging in the city. I think one of the priests used this. It releases some sort of energy based on whichever pellet is put inside. I only have some, so I don’t want to use them too often.”

Loke’s eyes widened and she looked remarkably excited and reached out her hand for some of the pellets, which Blu handed her two. “I’ve only ever heard of these! These are essentially marbles, but with small ritual symbols etched inside. Depending on which symbol, you can harness and utilize some of the spirits’ powers. This is incredible!”

Blu didn’t completely understand her, but didn’t realize he had something so rare. “I can show you how to use it, if you would like…”

Loke fought back her excitement. “No, you use it. But I might be able to help you create more pellet things. We just need marbles.”

“And, all that’s fantastic for Blu. But what about you?” Magnar sat on a stump, his arms crossed and glaring at her a little.

“Well, working off the same principal, I should be able to draw the symbol and evoke a similar effect, but it would manifest differently, I’m sure. I would just need to figure out which emblems qualify each elemental spirit and learn how it would manifest.”

“Wouldn’t that be a bit time consuming in the middle of a fight or something?” Really, she should at least be able to have some way to defend herself. Magnar was trying to make a game plan based on all possibilities for encounters.”

“It doesn’t have to be too much. I’ll work on something tonight. I’m sure I’ll find a way to be less of a burden. I need to cut costs a little too. You’re starting to be very expensive.”

Most of the afternoon was spent in silence among the three of them. Magnar was sharpening the sickle he was carrying, Blu was carefully reading and re-reading the scorched book that Loke picked up in the vacant orphanage, and Loke herself was a bit away from the others, reading and testing stuff out to trying to make herself more useful. At some point, Magnar had wandered away, only to come back shortly after dusk with some sort of forest rabbit for dinner. Blu noticed him coming back but didn’t pay him too much attention, but Loke didn’t notice him going or returning until she could smell food cooking. Frustrated at her lack of progress, she rejoined the other two near the fire. 

“So, did you figure something out? Are you now a super fighter?” He significantly doubted her abilities to do something so drastic in an afternoon, but if she was making any attempt, then he could be content with that for now. 

“No, but I did figure out something to act as a shield, at least for a moment. Also, that surprisingly smells pretty good.”

“I’m not the worst cook, I’ll have you know. I guess defense could be good for you for now. But it won’t take three hours either, will it?”

“No. I have to create a talisman of some sort first, though. Otherwise, it would take at least three minutes.”

“You could get really hurt in three minutes… I can still lend you my gun…” Blu didn’t pay Magnar much mind, but was concerned about Loke’s safety and he would rather she use his gun than have her get hurt. She was a high priestess, after all.

“No, you keep that. I will be able to create something in the next night or two for a temporary fix. When we reach the port, I would like to get some higher quality supplies to do so.”

“Then we should head to the port as early as we can tomorrow. I’ll take the last watch since I’m usually up really early anyway. We all need some good rest tonight though.” 

“I can take the first shift. I want to keep working while my ideas are fresh. Is that ok with you, Blu?”

Blu nodded while he poked at the meat. “Yeah. Just don’t forget to wake me up and get sleep yourself.” He thought about a half of dozen things in the area he could have used to give the meat more flavor, but he didn’t hate it. It just wasn’t as good as it could have been. 

Once they finished eating and cleaned everything up, they secured their supplies and Loke set to work around the fire while the boys had gone to sleep. Loke worked most of the night on a handful of etched leaves. Each leaf and a short prayer should allow a little bit of protection to herself or one of the others. It took her this long to make ten of them, so she hoped she wouldn’t need to use too many. If she could get the right things in the port village, she could make something a bit more permanent. But in the meantime, it was her turn for some sleep, and she was long overdue for some.

The journey to the port village took another two days, but they arrived without too much trouble. There had been a few angry creatures along the way, but they were easily handled. Loke used only a few leaves, mostly to protect Magnar as they seemed rather agitated against him. The village itself was small and mostly consisted of fishermen and merchants. There was a small area where people traded goods and a small hut where they could inquire about passage over the sea.

“I’m going to go look for something useful in the market. Then we can get ourselves onto one of those and head to Nich.” Loke was excited to start working on her talisman. 

“I think we should get the passes onto a ship first. I don’t know if they will just let anyone on, you know?” Magnar and Loke seemed to be glaring intently at each other, neither wanting to budge on their idea.

“Why don’t I go with Loke, just in case, and you get the passes, Magnar? Would that be alright?” Blu was trying to compromise, but he also wanted to have some time away from Magnar.

Magnar thought hard. He didn’t trust Blu much at all and it was his job to be protecting Loke, but a few minutes without her being a little strange might be alright. And she seemed to trust Blu enough. It would only be a few minutes. “Fine. But try not to wander off too far. I’ll join you when I’m done.” 

“Great! See you later. Here are a few taak for the fare.” Loke tossed three pieces at Magnar before turning and skipping off. 

He caught the taak and grunted at it. He watched her go off with naive happiness and Blu was chasing behind her already. He worried about what he was getting involved with and if they could even be relied upon. 

Magnar had a little bit of trouble procuring the passes. They kept arguing that the ships were for business ships only and not for people wanting a ride. The port up towards Yopa was for recreational trips, not this one. Ultimately, Magnar managed to convince one of the merchants with some sort of false story and the three taak Loke tossed at him. Finally successful, he went in search of Loke and Blu. 

Loke, however, seemed like she was in her own world. Blu had to chase after her and she was completely unaware of her surroundings and anything that could be harboring ill intent. Eventually she stopped at one shop and purchased a small sack of marbles and a beaded bracelet, which gave Blu enough time to catch up to her. It was also at this stand that Magnar caught up to both of them, passes in hand. Magnar didn’t explain the trouble he went through for the passes, but he kept hold of them himself and since they had some time until their ship set out, they went to an open area that had some tables and benches. Magnar continued some work on one of his maps while Loke used a small, sharp tool to start carving small designs into the marbles for Blu. Blu was content enough to watch both of them work, though he wished he had something of his own to do. In the meantime, he simply focused on them and the time. He didn’t want to let them miss the ship after they had come this far already.


	3. Nich, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loke, Blu, and Magnar reach Nich. They don't really know what to expect, but it wasn't what they encountered. A new member joins the party, but what are their intentions for doing so?

The ship ride was a few days long journey, but gave Loke plenty of time to engrave all of the marbles and the bracelet for herself. She had gotten the sense from Blu’s existing pellets that they had been given an electrical focus. It seemed to explain how he was able to use the charge from that to light the tunnels back in Teo. The engravings into her bracelet were homage to the god of protection. Anything elemental seemed to backfire with her attempts back at camp, so she stuck with protection for the time being. She had no physical offerings she could provide at a moment’s notice, but sometimes the gods and spirits didn’t mind a simple prayer of worship to be reminded that there were people that remembered them. Magnar had finished his map of the area that they traveled to get to the port and what he learned of the city’s layout. Since he had ample time, he was able to decorate the borders in a surprisingly elegant way. Blu spent most of his free time watching Loke work or just sitting by himself, watching the ocean. It was relaxing and time passed along quickly. 

Once the party had arrived in Nich, they had a lot to do while they were there. But the first thing on their agenda was a good night in an actual bed at the inn. Blu was turning in early while Loke and Magnar went over their travel plans. He was mostly along for the journey, so he didn’t really feel like his input was even necessary. 

“I only have a rough map that shows where different countries are, well, except for Caax. Obviously, I’ve traveled this one a bit and a tiny bit of Holom, but I don’t really have much of anything on Nich other than we went east.”  
Loke flipped her giant book open and pulled out one of the papers that had been stuffed inside of it. “According to a letter I received years ago from one of the priests that was traveling to Liyas, there is a large lake that takes up most of the southern half of the country and the northern half is grasslands. His village was in that grassland area, pretty far to the north, it seems. But there’s a protrusion of land into lake that almost encircles Liyas. The head of the country lives on a large island in that lake. I believe that currently, it is Chancellor Quiri.”

“You seem to know a lot of things for holing yourself up in Holom. But things in Nich haven't been so great, so where do you intend for us to go from here?” 

“With most of the villages abandoned, our best bet is probably the city. Nich suffered a lot, so we should aim for Liyas. Before we leave in the morning, we should inquire with some of the people around how far it is from here.”

“This is a port town, so there are probably a few merchants heading that way too. Maybe we could hitch a ride, or at least tag along with them. Oh, and I guess I should have asked this before, but how bad is it here, you know, for us? I haven’t heard it as bad as Caax, but I just want to be sure.”

“Anymore, I’m not too sure.” Loke sighed and put the paper back in her book. “I don’t think there are any public executions or things like that, but while we were a minority before, we’re very few and far between now. Plus, since the war, I think a lot of people have unjustified fears. I’ve heard some horrifying stories that don’t sound anything like us, but I do think that those that are weak and don’t understand are just trying to push fear onto others because of their own weaknesses.”

“Well, I’ve heard some of the same things in the opposite direction growing up, so I could see that. And it was usually the ones that were a bit unhinged anyway.”

“I’m sure not all of them are unhinged, but I do think their hearts may be clouded.”

Magnar shrugged. “Either way, I just wanted to know how much risk we’re taking.”

“Understandable. I have similar concerns. I am a little worried about the royal family of Tohil though.”

“What’s going on in Tohil?” He was curious to know how she seemed to know so much. She had told him before she wasn't really aware of things in the world, but this was quite contradictory.

“I thought everyone knew, so I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Then again, if you were working your fields, it might not have come out your way. Supposedly, near the end of the wars in Nich and Kabra, there was a siege on the castle in Tohil and in exchange for their lives, the family converted. The royal family had always been loyal believers. Their conversion hasn’t gotten them a free pass, however. The Tumben’s leaders don’t trust them and suspect they practice Biyeho in secret, but the believers that remain branded the whole family as traitors.”

“No way! So regardless of what they believe there's no win for them. I guess things are pretty tense there. I thought things in Caax were rough.” 

“Indeed. I also heard that the royal family has secluded themselves in the castle and haven’t been seen for a while. Some speculate that they’ve been murdered or are being held hostage. No one knows.”

“I guess we’ll be heading that way?”

“Probably at some point. But I have a few things I wanted to look into before going there. It isn’t something I can just waltz in and magically fix. I need to see how the state of things, in general. If there are so few believers left, then any attempt to restore associations might be futile.”

Magnar was wondering how much she was hiding. “What are your intentions for this trip, really? Because if I’m putting myself out there for some significant risks, I want to make sure it isn’t trivial.”

“I told you before. I am looking for other Biyeho so that we can try to figure out some sort of solution to the genocide. At least, that’s the gist of it.”

“So there IS more.”

“Yes and no. I mean, that is what I’m searching for, but as things come up, priorities may change. Like back in Teo. I was ready to abandon everything to take care of those souls because that was a higher priority for me. If other things come up, then I will reevaluate as necessary.”

“So, if you come to find that numbers aren’t very significant, then what? You just let everyone fend for themselves?” Magnar had been getting a little frustrated as the conversation progressed, but he was starting to finally show it.

“You don’t need to get so angry. I’m one priestess in a very expansive world here. I was too late to do anything in Teo other than see their souls off to be reborn. I don’t know what else awaits us, but I can only do so much on my own. Even the gods that may be among us can’t really do all that much. They need people to believe in them to give them power and strength. Even if any of us happened to be a god, we probably wouldn’t know it and we certainly wouldn’t be very powerful unless people left us offerings and held a strong belief in us. This is why the god of war and the god of protection are usually the strongest. People want to be protected in all situations, but when there is war, they want victory.” Loke was getting riled up at his frustration herself, but managed to keep herself mostly composed. “Do you have any great solutions?”

“…No. But I think there should be more of a plan than just wandering around. I just don’t have the answer to what that is. Besides, I’m just a farmer, part-time bodyguard, and a wannabe cartographer. I can’t really say I’m versed in any sort of diplomatic affairs.”

“Then leave the thinking to me and tomorrow we’ll figure out where we’re going. I feel bad about Blu though. He’s just a kid. He should be trying to find his path back home.”

“It didn’t sound like he had much of a home. If his friends from the orphanage got all split because of this religion issue, than it might be better for him away from there. And he came along on his own, remember. Don’t worry about that.” But that still didn’t mean Magnar trusted him or that contraption he carried.

“I suppose you’re right, but I am a bit curious about his weapon. I never heard of nor seen such a thing.”

“It seems pretty rare. I’m not too sure about it either, but if it works, then I’m not going to complain. Just as long as he doesn’t use it on us.”

“I don’t think he will. He seems rather reliable to me.”

Magnar didn’t respond to her comment. Loke’s naiveté was never ending and it was charming in its own way. But at the same time, it could easily put them at great risk. He had to keep a careful eye on both of them, which was stressing him out more than he liked.

By the time morning came, everyone had bought a few new supplies and as much water as they could carry before making their way around the port, asking questions about villages and how to get to Liyas. Loke and Blu weren’t able to learn much more than Loke already knew and Magnar was trying to get them a ride with one of the merchant caravans without much luck. Reuniting and settling on their fate, they decided they would just follow one of the caravans as long as they could and hope they would lead them in the right direction. 

Following the caravan was mostly a good idea, but there was so much dust kicked up by the wheels that they fell further and further behind while they tried to avoid the dust clouds. Ultimately, they were left very far behind and on their own once again. Fortunately, the ground was fairly dry and it was simple enough to follow the tracks made by the caravan that they were following. They at least were confident they were going in a direction that wasn’t completely wrong and though the area was sparse on landmarks or trees, it wasn’t overwhelmingly hot or uncomfortable to travel in. It was nearing sundown when they could see some sort of structure off in the distance. It looked like they wouldn’t reach it for another few hours, but they all agreed to push on and travel through the darkness. The moon was high that night, so they had plenty of moonlight to travel by.

As the night progressed, they started seeing different wildlife than they had encountered earlier. The animals during the day seemed more likely to run off and leave them be, but the nocturnal ones were quite the opposite. They were probably only an hour outside of whatever they were heading towards when they got attacked the first time by some sort of nocturnal bird. Blu was thankful for Loke’s engraved marbles, as they were extremely helpful against the birds. He nicknamed them static pellets, since it seemed to shock them like a static charge. Once they were shocked, Magnar was easily able to dispose of them and as more would randomly attack, Loke’s shield ability helped protect them while Blu and Magnar could take care of them. What should have taken an hour, took them two, but they were finally able to arrive in what ended up being a shell of a village. 

It appeared to have once been a stopping place for merchants. It looked like it had an inn, a few shops, and a handful of homes. It was a very small outpost, but being on the major trading road, it should still be prosperous. Exhausted from the day, they cautiously entered the abandoned inn and took shelter in one of the rooms that didn’t have missing windows or walls. 

“I don’t like this place. It doesn’t feel right.” Blu often looked a bit anxious, but this time he spoke for all of them. 

“I agree. I don’t think we should stay here too long. I hate to head out without rest, but I think we’re going to have to take what we can get here.   
Loke didn’t respond to either of them, instead she was looking around at things in the room and started out into the hall way.

“Hey, didn’t you hear us? Something here isn’t right. We should only rest for a few minutes and head out again.”

“I heard you. But I don’t think it’s as bad as you say. Besides, I’m tired of fighting those stupid birds. We’re staying until dawn. This place doesn’t seem to have been abandoned too long ago, I’m going to see if there is some food downstairs.”  
Magnar looked at Blu and they both got up and followed her out. Neither wanted to be left alone and she certainly wasn’t going to be safe on her own. She was more than likely to walk into a trap or something.   
Down in the kitchen, Loke was looking through crates and barrels and not finding too much. It had obviously been scoured long before, but she wasn’t giving up.

“We have food upstairs if you want something. Blu dried some of that left over boar meat. You can snack on that.”

“Yeah, I have plenty of that,” Blu confirmed.

Loke looked at them, puzzled at why they were acting so scared. “You two alright? Just because it’s a ghost town, doesn’t mean it’s full of ghosts.”

“It could, though.” A soft baritone voice echoed through the dining part of the inn. 

Magnar instantly pulled his sickle and Blu put his hand on his gun. Loke was holding a lid to a barrel, but was mostly trying to hide behind it.

“Who’s there? Who are you?” Magnar wasn’t taking any chances with the voice and wasn’t going to let Loke’s foolishness get them taken out by some poltergeist.

A tall man that had a few scars and, from what they could see in the dark, looked like he needed a good bath slowly stepped forward. “You should be more polite when entering someone’s home, you know.”

From behind the barrel lid, Loke was the one to apologize. “I’m sorry, we didn’t realize anyone was here. The entire village looked abandoned. If you don’t mind, could we possibly seek shelter for the evening? We’re just three people traveling to Liyas.”

“For what reason are you going to Liyas?” The man ignored Magnar's questions right out and pressed Loke for more information.

All Magnar thought of was Loke saying something stupid and getting them in hot water. He was relieved she didn’t totally spill the beans. She wasn’t quite someone that could lie, he surmised long ago. “We’re not having much luck in our own hometown finding food and stuff, so we were hoping to find something better in the city.”

The man burst out laughing. The travelers were all nervous and worried about what was going to happen next and the laughter didn’t seem to help all that much. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m also wandering around and I don’t actually live here either. But one of you smells like blood.”

Magnar subconsciously put his hand to his arm where one of the birds had scratched him earlier.

“You there, the one with the dark hair. It seems you got hit by one of the Noctowls. You should let me take a look at that.”

He raised his sickle and took a very defensive stance “Why should I?”

“My apologies. My name is Dias Meulo. I’m a doctor. I also don’t really care about what your reasons for being here are.”

“How do we know we can trust you?”

Loke leaned in closer to Magnar to whisper to him. “Maybe you should let him take a look at that. It seemed pretty bad earlier.”

“It’s fine. We just need to change the dressing. Stay behind me, He’s probably up to something.” 

“I don’t know what I can offer for you to believe me. Like I said, I’m just traveling around. But I was a war doctor, so I do know my way around wounds on the battle field, even if it is a battle field with those psychotic birds. Besides, for those looking for food since all the crops in Caax seemed to have been eaten by chipmunks, you don’t have a lot of options out here, do you?”

“Magnar…” Loke whined at him. He didn’t look behind him to see her expression, but he could hear it in her voice. 

“Fine. But any weird moves and you’ll taste my sickle.” 

“Of course, I wouldn’t expect otherwise. Let’s go upstairs. There is a lantern up there. It’s hard to work in the dark. We can do all our proper introductions there.”

“You first.”

Dias bowed and led the way up the stairs to a locked room. It looked like he had been living there for a little while when everyone got a good look at the room when he lit the lantern. “It isn’t much, but it’s been my home for a few months now. I get a few supplies from the merchants passing through. Occasionally some of them are in need of some mending, so I trade that for food and water. So, farmer, you sit here and I’ll take care of that gash. You need some stitches.”

“My name is Magnar.” He seemed rather indignant, but was also complying rather well. 

“Well, Magnar, you seem to have your wits about you, which is good. But not every situation is risky or dangerous. The young lady over there was able to sense that there really wasn’t a risk, but you two were quite scared inside, weren’t you?”  
Blu was mostly standing behind Loke the entire time in the room, but he was fascinated by how he was tending to Magnar’s wound with such ease. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Dias, was it?” Loke had more pressing things to get to, even if the others didn’t like it.

“Yes?”

“Were you serious about the chipmunks?”

“I’m quite serious about the metaphor, but as far as real chipmunks, no. But as a doctor, it doesn’t matter if you believe in one god or one hundred gods. I am to take care of the injured in front of me. Does that answer your question?”

“Sort of, but as you could tell, we aren’t from Nich. Personally, I’m a high priestess from Holom City, Loke Aumoe. I’m looking for any information I can get on the other believers, which is why I’ve come to Nich.”  
Dias tied off the last stitch and turned to Loke and bowed. “It is an honor to be in your presence.”  
Loke waved her hands in front of her. “Please, don’t be formal. I was never good at formalities outside of rituals and ceremonies. Loke is fine.”

“Oh, then, Loke, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Dias turned back to Magnar and tied a bandage around his arm. “You won’t find out much here in the grasslands and I’m afraid there might not be all that much in Liyas for you, either. Although they haven’t had a heavy purge like the one going on in Caax, it is being handled on a more silent scale. Essentially, people are simply disappearing. Although after the war there weren't many biyeho left to begin with. You’ll do well not travel there if you wish to remain in this existence.”

Loke looked disappointed and Magnar got himself far from Dias. Blu patted Loke on the back to try to comfort her, but he remained completely fixated on Dias. 

“But, I do know of some things that might make you a little happier. We can talk about it over breakfast. For now you guys can get some rest. “

“Hey, before we go to bed, how did you know I was a farmer?” Magnar wasn’t sure about him yet, but he didn’t seem too bad. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be waiting for the right moment.

“Your build and how you hold a sickle, for starters. You probably work the fields in Caax somewhere. Am I correct?”

“Eerily so.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve seen a lot in my 38 years. And you, the shy one behind the priestess. What should I call you?”

“Blu. Um, what you did with Magnar’s wound was really impressive.”

“That was nothing, but thank you. Loke, Blu, Magnar, please get some rest. Please believe that I do not intend to harm you in any way so that you may rest easy and recover your strength.”

“Thank you very much, Dias. May the blessings of the god of health be upon you.” Loke was almost too excited to sleep, but her body was telling her she was at her limits. She led the way out of Dias’ room and to the one they had set their gear in. “Everyone, I’m sorry tonight was really weird, but we were very lucky to run into someone to treat that wound. I was a little worried about it.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Magnar intentionally didn’t look at her and dropped himself into bed.

“You winced the whole time he stitched you up.”

“That wasn’t necessary Blu.”

Loke fought her laughter until she couldn’t hold it anymore. Once she started to laugh, Blu joined in and eventually, so did Magnar. The tension in the room released and everyone was able to have a comfortable night, even if the town was abandoned and there was a creepy looking doctor across the hall.

The next morning, Dias had already made a semi-decent breakfast spread, although the taste was not anywhere near Blu’s high level of cooking. He noticed he wasn’t the only one up early, as he watched Magnar roam from building to building through the inn’s front window. Blu was up shortly after Dias and kept watch on him from a distance and tried to stay hidden as best as he could. He was marveled by how smoothly and quickly he stitched up Magnar, he really wanted to learn more. Loke, however, was the only one that seemed to sleep without a care in the world, and it wasn’t until breakfast was almost ready that the smell had woken her from her slumber. 

“It’s about time you woke up. I was going to eat your portion if you didn’t though.”

Loke ignored Magnar and took a look at everything that was laid out. “This looks and smells fantastic. You must be short on supplies; you didn’t need to go to all this trouble.”

“It was no trouble. A caravan is likely to pass through later today, so I can negotiate for some more. Please, all of you, have a good breakfast.”

While they ate, Blu tried to secretly add some seasoning to his plate, but Dias managed to see from the corner of his eye. He hadn’t thought to use what Blu was using, and while it was a little disheartening to see someone change his food, he took note to try and improve his own cooking abilities. 

“So, while you were up there napping away, I took a look around town. I hit the jackpot! There’s a tool shed around back that has some fantastic equipment. Dias, do you think it would be alright if I took one of the tools from the shed? I mean, I don’t think anyone is using them here, but since you seem to be the entire village, I figured I would ask.”

“Help yourself. I am only here temporarily and will probably be moving on soon myself. There may be other supplies in some of the other shops if things of that nature interest you.”

“Oh? Then I should see after breakfast. I wanted to try and improve that technique a little bit, but I might need some things. And I thought of something else that might be useful for Blu too.”

Blu looked up, not expecting to be brought into conversation. “I don’t really need anything, Loke, it’s alright.”

“Nonsense. If it works, that gun of yours will be even more powerful! And same for you, Magnar, when you pick something to play with, if you’ll let me, I’d like to try and give it a bit of a boost.”

“Uh, sure, but just don’t break it. And maybe try it with something else just in case.”

“Of course.” She wasn’t foolish enough to use the best items as a test, especially when she had been prone to a lot of failure in her experiments.

“If I may ask, what is it that you’re talking about?”

“I’m not really sure how to explain it properly, but I guess you could consider it a blessing? Although that may not be the right term for it..”

“I see. Then, may the god of creativity smile upon your ideas.”

The three travelers looked stunned. Blu and Magnar hadn’t heard about a god of creativity, and Loke was stunned that someone else had actually known of them. He was a popular god in artist circles. Most murals and poetic works were often said to have been by people given the spark from the god of creativity, but to anyone else, it wasn’t a god that was often thought of or acknowledged. Though, the fact Dias even suggested it for her work was something she didn’t expect. She hadn’t thought of her work and experiments to be something that could use the god of creativity because of how basic it was, but since it was brought up, she couldn’t deny that it was the best god to ask in her situation. She had the knowledge, but she just needed a spark of inspiration to make it applicable. 

“Thank you, Dias. I wanted to ask, however, what was it that you were about to mention last night? Something that would make us happier?”

“Ah, yes. Since a lot of merchants travel through here on the way to Liyas or from Liyas to the port, there have been things that I’ve overheard recently. I don’t think traveling all the way to Liyas will be all that beneficial for you, but you may want to catch a ship to Yopa. I’ve heard a few people mention an entire village of believers. It might be relevant to your interests, at least.”

“That sounds right up your alley, Loke. Wanna backtrack? Though, I don’t know if Yopa has a direct port that doesn’t involve going back through Caax. It might be too early for them to have forgotten about us.”

“Let me think about it for today. I think we should rest here while we can and I’ll decide later tonight.”

“Fair enough. Blu, any thoughts?”

Blu shook his head. “No. But I think staying here today is a good idea.” He really wanted to learn some techniques from Dias before leaving.

After the four finished eating, Magnar went back to rummage through the shed for something good for himself and something for Loke to fiddle with. Blu helped Dias clean up from breakfast, trying to hopefully win some favor that he might show him how to at least stitch up a wound like that. Loke rummaged around the other shops to see what types of items she could find that might be useful. She found some trinkets that she thought she could utilize and a few stray marbles in a back room that probably once belonged to the family that used to run the shop. Her biggest find was when she went to look through the shed Magnar was in. She wasn’t very interested in the large tools he was looking over and polishing off on some sort of weird stone, but smaller tools for more delicate work. She found some sort of engraving tool, which was exactly what she was looking for. It also seemed to be similar in size to the needle she had stuffed into the spine of her book.

Much of the day had everyone off on their own. Magnar mapped out the area, even if it was a deserted area, it was still good to have a landmark. Dias resigned to at least give Blu some basic medical advice and Blu was excited to be more useful during the trip. Loke set herself up behind the inn with a few of the spare tools, marbles, and her book open to a spread of complex symbols and incomprehensible writing. As it started to get dark, Dias had left the inn in search of some sort of small animal to help with his teachings with Blu and noticed Loke still diligently working with a strange set up of farm tools. Without drawing any attention to himself, he watched her set up a hoe, string tied to the top end so she could pull it forward from where she had positioned herself. She had some sort of symbol drawn in the dusty road in front of her, but he couldn’t tell what it was. Once she was situated, Loke pulled the string to have the hoe fall towards her and immediately began some sort of short chanting. Dias had no idea what she was doing, but before the hoe could fall and probably hit her, he noticed it nearly stop in mid fall. It wasn’t a complete stop, but it was clearly moving much slower than it should. Stepping aside while the hoe took its time falling to not get hit by it, she wiped her brow with her arm and put her hands on her hips, feeling very accomplished. As the hoe fell, Dias stepped around the corner applauding her efforts.

“That was like nothing I’ve ever seen. And believe me when I say that I’ve seen quite a lot.”

“I would say that was nothing, but it’s taken me all day to get to this point.”

Dias took notice to her appearance in the dim light of dusk. Her hands were bruised and scarred, with a few newer burns and her clothing was completely covered in dust. “Are you alright, though? I’d like to take care of the burns on your hand.”

She looked at her hands. She usually wore gloves, so no one ever really commented about them. “It’s fine. I don’t have much of an affinity for the lightning elementals. Earth either, for that matter.” It was then she realized how much she really wanted a good bath.

“Nonsense. Please finish and return soon. I want to check over those wounds anyway.”

Loke reluctantly agreed and asked for Magnar to come join her for a few moments before she cleaned up for the night. 

Magnar wandered out of the inn a few moments after Dias returned to it and looked at Loke curiously. “What’s up? Why so dirty?”

“I didn’t have much luck with it, but maybe you will. Please pick up that hoe and try to use it as you would if that stack of barrels were attacking you.”

He didn’t know what she was getting at, but he took an offensive swipe at the barrels, intentionally missing it. “So? That didn’t do anything. What are you trying to do?”

“Just wait a second. You know the words to use during offerings, right? The ones that roughly translate out to I give this offering to you?”

“Yeah. That’s pretty basic. We always used it back home with the shrine. What of it?”

“Swing again, but say those words.”

Magnar wasn’t sure what she was up to, but he did as she said and as he swung towards the barrels, a stream of dust came off the road and the small stones and dust bounced off of the barrels. “What just happened?”

“I engraved something here on the hoe. It seems you do have affinity with earth elementals. I don’t, which should answer your earlier questions. If you would like, I can do the same for the tools you chose earlier.”

“I’m genuinely impressed. I didn’t expect you to actually do something like this when you set out to be more useful. I mean that shield worked pretty good with the owls.” 

“I have a few other things, but for tonight, I need a good bath and to sleep. I still haven’t thought too much about Yopa.”

“Well, make that decision soon since if we have to leave, we should do it early. It’s just a matter of which direction.” Magnar secretly hoped to continue through Nich to work on his maps, but expanding northern Caax and Yopa were still enticing. “Everyone else has used the bath, so it should be freed up. Blu’s making something to eat so it should be ready when you’re done.” Magnar headed back to the inn, taking the hoe with him. It no longer seemed like a worthless tool to be left behind.

Loke cleaned up her work space and headed back to the inn to hopefully get all the dust out of her hair and to relax a little bit. Her thoughts were going at top speed, so she wasn’t really able to relax all that much. She could smell Blu’s cooking downstairs, so she finished her bath and headed to the room to find something clean to put on since she washed her clothes and had them hanging on a line in the bathroom to dry. She found a cloth to wrap around her, but it barely seemed to cover everything. It wasn’t far between the rooms and she figured everyone was still downstairs. She explicitly told Magnar to not come upstairs and since Blu was cooking, it should be fine. Except that when she opened the door to see Dias standing there waiting for her, everything was not fine. 

“Wh-what are you doing here?” She clenched at the cloth to try and hide herself even more within it. Her entire body flushed red and she inched closer and closer to her room.

“I wanted to take a look at your injuries. I don’t mean any ill intent."

Loke’s shuffle speed increased until she reached the door to the room. “Now isn’t a good time. Please, just let me be.” She slipped into the room and slammed the door shut. 

Dias sighed and walked across the hall to his room and sat in his chair, watching the door. He was concerned about the burns and if she was hiding that from the others, than she might have other serious injuries she was hiding. Although, from what he had seen, it didn't seem to be the case. 

Loke emerged in a pull over dress, tied at the waist with a simple belt. It must have been a patron or villager’s outfit once. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Dias waiting for her. “Can it wait until after we eat, please?” He was starting to weird her out a little and wondered if she was safe with him. 

Dias nodded and stood to follow her downstairs. He didn’t understand why she was being so reluctant, but between her being suddenly jumpy and Blu not wanting to leave his side, he wondered what the dynamics of this group were really like. 

Dinner progressed mostly well. Magnar was excited about the upgrades Loke made to the hoe and everyone praised Blu’s cooking, rendering Blu a little embarrassed. He did share some of his cooking tips so that hopefully the food would taste better when others cooked. Loke didn’t say much during the meal at all and Dias was worried that she still was hiding her hands from the group. How many pairs of gloves was she carrying in her pack anyway? 

As Blu began to clean the dishes away, Loke had come to her decision. “Everyone, I think that we should go to Yopa. However, I do think that maybe we should wait another day before doing so. I have a little more work that I would like to do here before leaving. Would that be alright?”

Magnar was being paid regardless, so he was actually a little surprised she was asking for anyone’s opinion. Blu simply nodded and went back to the dishes. 

“Company for one more night isn’t such a bad thing. I will see if I can get any of the caravans to give off some extra goods tomorrow for your trip.” Dias headed upstairs but paused half way to address Loke briefly before disappearing upstairs. 

“Loke, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to speak with you.”

“What’s that all about?” Magnar whispered to her.

Loke was starting to fidget, but took off one of her gloves. “Could you come with me when I talk to him? I should have told you guys sooner, but he wants to take a look at my hands. I don’t feel very comfortable around him alone, so if you would please…”

Magnar took a look at her exposed hand and fought back the urge to grab it. “How long have these been like this? These look pretty terrible. You don’t need to try so hard, you know?”

“It isn’t a big deal, really.” She put her glove back on. “Just don’t tell Blu just yet, ok?”

“Fine. But we’re going up there right now. It’s been a day and already my arm is really come a long way.”

Loke stood up silently and started up the stairs, Magnar close behind her. “Hey, Blu, sorry we didn’t help you out, but I’m gonna tag along with Loke to chat with Dias.”

“It’s alright. We had a chance to talk a lot today.” Blu and Dias didn’t really get to exchange much in the way of actual conversation, but he did learn a little about first aid and he got to dissect a rat and stitch it back up for practice. He had a long way to go to be nearly as good as Dias, but he still was happy he had the chance.

Up in Dias’ room, Loke hesitantly sat on a chair that was positioned close to Dias. Magnar was invited to sit on the bed. Loke hesitantly took off both gloves revealing a number of burns that were recent and some that were a few days older. There were also some cuts and her fingers had numerous paper cuts on the tips. “How did you get so many burns?”

“I told you earlier, I don’t have an affinity to a lot of elements. The burns, specifically, are from trying to duplicate the pellets for Blu’s gun and the ones from today were from trying to improve it. I think I was successful, but since I don’t have any affinity towards lightning, it doesn’t work for me as it seems to do for him. Some of the older ones were when I was looking into things I could use to be a little more helpful in battle. I’m not very good with fire, either. The cuts on my arm are from testing a wind based idea.”

Dias started to apply an ointment to the fresh wounds. “And the fingertips?”

“Those are from the book.”

“She’s always in that thing, Dias. Always. But, it seems to be her thing, so, I guess that’s ok?”

Dias frowned. She had so many cuts and burns. “Neither of you noticed any of this?”

Magnar shook his head. She always wore her gloves when he was around, he didn’t know she ever took them off. They were fingerless, so he figured she had plenty of tactile sensation the way they were. 

“Don’t keep things like this from them. You hired Magnar to protect you, right? Then let him do what you’re paying him to do. If you let something happen to yourself, he’ll just feel guilty that he failed, when it was just you keeping silent.” 

Loke didn’t say much of anything, but let him patch up her hands. After coating what he could with some herbal ointments, he wrapped her hands in bandages. “That about does it. Do either of you want a full look over?”  
Magnar tapped his arm. “Nah, I think I’m pretty good to go.”

Loke held up her bandaged hands to look them over. He wrapped them in their entirety, including her fingertips. “How long does this need to stay like this? I wanted to do some engraving tomorrow.”

“A day or so. You should still be able to do most things that way. I didn’t make it too tight for your fingers to move easily.”

Loke still frowned and stood up. “I’m going to turn in early.” She didn’t know if she should thank him or be upset at him. For now, she just wanted to lie down and sleep off her stress.

After Loke left, Magnar thanked Dias and followed Loke across the hall. “He was right, you know. If you went and set yourself on fire or something, I would have blamed myself. Plus, I wouldn’t have gotten paid, which is worse.”

Loke crawled under the quilt. “I don’t want to discuss it any more tonight. Just leave the tools you want me to engrave near the entrance. And tell Blu that small pouch is for him. It should be a little stronger than the last ones I made up. Goodnight.”

“Yeah, ok.” Magnar wasn’t going to argue with her anymore, and headed down to see if Blu still needed help, but ran into him in the stairway. “I guess everything’s all done.”

“Yeah. Everything ok up there? Where’s Loke?”

“She headed to bed early. She left you a pouch of something on the table.”

“For me?” Blu wasn’t expecting anything, but when he got to the room, he looked at the few stones she inscribed. The symbol was similar to the other one, but yet, was slightly different. He looked over to her sleeping and noticed her fingers sticking up through the quilt. “Hey, Magnar, is she alright? Her fingers are all bandaged.” He whispered so he didn’t wake her up.

Magnar wanted to let him know the whole story, but since she asked him to not tell Blu, he thought of something to deflect the questions. “Just some paper cuts from going through the book all the time. Nothing serious.”

Blu looked a little closer at her while she slept. “Did she always have those marks under her eyes? I don’t remember seeing them before.”

“I don’t think so? I mean, I didn’t really look too hard at her before, so I can’t say, but now that you mention it, I kinda see it now. I wouldn’t bring it up with her, though. She seemed upset enough about Dias bringing up the cuts on her fingers.”

Blu nodded. “That explains why she avoided lemons at the fruit merchant.”

“Could be. Sounds like a good enough reason to me.”

Loke got up in the middle of the night while everyone slept and went downstairs to work on Magnar’s chosen equipment. With her fingers bandaged, she was having a hard time getting comfortable with the process and it was taking her a lot longer than it should have if she didn’t have them all taped up. It was nearly dawn when she finished the sickle he usually carried and hadn’t been able to get to the pitchfork. She snuck back upstairs and into bed before anyone else was up, but Dias was up and noticed her going back into the room through a broken panel in the wall. He was relieved she didn’t remove her bandages, but was concerned about her actions. It was good they delayed departure a day, but he was worried about the group dynamics and her health. What intrigued him the most about Loke was her ability to embed abilities into Magnar’s tools and recreate ammunition to what looked like some mystical weapon for Blu. Whatever method she used to stop the hoe from falling was also quite mysterious and he started having suspicions about her. He wanted to know more about her and if all of this was related to her being a high priestess or if there were other factors at play.

After another day of rest and weapon modification, the group packed their things and prepared to set out in the early morning hours. They needed to return to the port before the day was out so that they could minimize exposure to the noctowls and see what they could find out in Yopa. As they were about to leave, Dias was following them out with gear of his own.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I thought I might accompany you to Yopa.”

Loke looked at Magnar and Blu. Blu looked a little bit excited, but was clearly trying to not to look over eager. Magnar shrugged and started walking along the road. “Welcome to our motley crew! Where in Yopa are you heading?”

“Hm, not too sure. But I’m not doing all that much here and the group of you seem rather interesting. For now, I figured I would tag along and I can offer some first aid. You seem like a crowd that would need my assistance quite often.”

“Hey, you guys going to stand there and chat or we going to Yopa?” Magnar shouted back at the three that hadn’t really made any moves to leave.

After catching up to Magnar, the now group of four made their way back along the road that they traveled a few days before. They only encountered a few stray animals that didn’t really want them around, but it gave everyone a chance to get used to their newly acquired weapons or skills. 

“Dias, you can fight with scalpels?” Blu was already amazed at his medical skills, but Dias’ use of scalpels as throwing knives fascinated him. 

“I suppose it’s like Magnar, where I use what I am comfortable using.” 

Loke tried watching him in the few skirmishes they had and was already trying to figure out how she could improve his weapons. She had some ideas, but she wasn’t certain and she wasn’t sure he would even allow her to do any modifications. She would wait a little to ask, but she did want to try and do something to repay his earlier kindness, even if the atmosphere around him felt off. 

It was late when they got back to the port. They had a few noctowl encounters, but they went far smoother with the addition of Dias and the improved weaponry. They were enjoying a long overdue meal at the inn when they overheard a few people talking about happenings in Caax. 

“So, did you hear about what happened in Teo?”

“No! What happened?”

“Apparently one of those believers got in and set fire to half the city! There were so many burned corpses found in one area! It looked like they were sacrificing people to their gods for a while. I really hope they find them. Why would someone do such a horrible thing?”

Loke’s face drained of color and went completely silent. She knew that wasn’t the truth, but parts of it weren’t completely untrue. The bodies were her kinsmen that had been mercilessly executed. She did start the fire, but that was to release their souls. She had the same question as those they were listening to, but in reverse. Why would they do such a horrible thing?

Dias noticed Loke’s immediate reaction and looked at Magnar and Blu. Magnar was eating as if nothing was wrong and Blu looked a little bit uncomfortable. He was about to try and distract them from the other conversation when Loke stood.

“I’m sorry, but I need to excuse myself for now. Please, finish without me.” Loke left and went back to her room. Dias wanted to know what exactly happened, but obviously here was not the place to discuss it.

“Is she going to be alright?” Blu was just as nervous about himself, but he also worried about Loke. She was overly concerned about all the believers and he supported what they all did in Teo, but he worried about how Loke was going to handle what others were saying.

“She’ll be fine. She probably hasn’t been sleeping much and she hasn’t been eating a lot either. Maybe her need for sleep beat out her need for food.” Magnar was almost done with his meal, but while he was trying to make himself seem aloof about the entire situation, he also worried about what she might be doing. He finished his meal ahead of Dias and Blu and excused himself and headed back to the rooms. 

“Hey, you alright?”

Loke was lying in the bed, her back to the door. She didn’t want to talk about it, but she should at least acknowledge his presence – except she ended up talking a lot more than she intended. “I’m fine. I just didn’t want to listen to them anymore. They don’t understand and I’m powerless to try and educate them. All I want to do is explain what we believe in and that we’re not all savages. They’re blinded to the savages within their own faith and won't listen to anything else.”

Magnar sat on the end of her bed. “Look, I don’t think it’s going to get much better from here. You want to find other believers, right? There’s got to be plenty that feel like you do also. I mean, you wanted to find others to figure out how to address all this animosity, right? But if you wanted to just go home now, I’ll make sure you get to Holom just safe.” 

“Can you just let me be for a bit, please?” 

Magnar got up and headed to the door. “We’re at least heading back to Caax in the morning, so figure out what you want to do. I’m going to see what the other two are doing.” Magnar found the other two conversing with the two that were gossiping about Teo and couldn’t have been happier Loke kicked him out instead of coming back to dinner. “What’s going on here?”

Dias smiled. “We were just talking to these young ladies about what it is like in Teo, since I’ve never had the opportunity to visit.”

“Is that so?” Magnar sat down, hesitantly.

“It’s a fantastic city. Have you been, Mister?” The girl that had all the gossip addressed Magnar.

“I’m a little familiar with it. I wouldn’t know what it is like to live there, though.” 

“It’s so great! I mean, except for those pesky believers that keep insisting that they’re not dangerous, but it’s hard to argue that it’s so much safer since so many have been rousted out. Right, Tuus?”

The friend of the gossiper that was learning about events in Caax, Tuus, agreed silently. 

“So, there shouldn’t be any problems for a traveler, such as myself, or even for my friends?”

“It should be a great time! We have a lot of really good local produce too! We’re really known for our farms and stuff.”

Magnar didn’t feel like listening to her glorify things that weren’t worthy of such words. The city was only safe on the surface and while they usually had great produce, this year was doing quite poorly. “I’m going to see if there isn’t something I can get for her in case she wakes up hungry.” Magnar left the table and wandered to the bar. He watched the table from the bar while he waited for a bowl of soup to be prepared for Loke. Dias seemed to have engaged the girls rather well, but Blu looked quite uncomfortable throughout the entire conversation. Once the soup was ready, he took it back to the room and set it on the table, just mentioning that it was there before working on his maps to take his mind off of things for a while.

Loke heard him mention the soup, and while she was still a little hungry, but she didn’t have much of an appetite. She knew that this was such a minor thing in regards to her tasks, but she couldn’t help but be so directly affected. It was another hour or so before Blu came back, also mentally exhausted. 

“I don’t know how Dias can talk to them so freely and not get so upset. I can’t imagine how bad Loke feels about what they said, but I know that some of the things I heard made me feel really bad.” He glanced over at Loke, who hadn’t moved and eventually had fallen asleep. “Is she going to be alright?”

“Probably. I think this was something she knew would happen, but when it actually came about this way, she was overwhelmed. Also, she hasn’t eaten a lot and has been working too hard to improve our chances with those animals out there.”

“You both seem to argue about things a lot, so I didn’t think you cared too much about her.”

“She’s my paycheck. I gotta make sure she’s fine and safe or else I don’t get paid. I’m actually a little surprised you’re still risking your neck with us.”

“I have nothing else to do.” Blu had more to say, but he didn’t really want to talk too much to Magnar. He would rather talk with Dias, but tonight he was ready to turn in himself. 

Magnar was just about done all he could do on his map when Dias finally came back, trying very hard to keep silent. “Welcome back. Have fun with the young girls?”

“Hardly. But I learned a little information. We should all get some sleep. The ship leaves rather early tomorrow. Did Loke end up eating more?”

“She got up at one point and ate half the bowl before going back to sleep. She didn’t say anything though. She took it all pretty hard.”

“Could you explain what happened in Teo? I imagine it isn’t anything like the girls described.”

Magnar explained everything as briefly as he could, not going into too many details, but enough to get Dias caught up on their plight. 

“I see. That explains a lot of what both of them were saying. Though, it does seem as though the fire did spread into the city for a bit. We’ll talk more as a group before leaving in the morning.”


	4. Return to Caax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before wasting time on a dead end in Nich, the group returns to Caax en route to Yopa. Dias has now joined the party!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you have any comments or notes, please feel free to leave one or two! This chapter is a little long (about 10 word pages), but I hope you enjoy anyway <3

Dias changed his mind about talking more about Teo in the morning. Instead, they boarded their ship and Magnar laid out his map of Caax and they decided on their route to Yopa. They opted to stay along the coastline and northern border as best as they could until they reached the Great Southern Bridge. There were several villages and the rare city along the way that they could probably find a place to stay without alerting too many people. Magnar warned that this area was hit hardest by the poor crops and there were likely to be bandits and other disgruntled people along the way and it would be good to pay a lot of attention to their surroundings. People would be desperate and visitors are an often easy target. Their desperation made them less likely to be turned in to Teo, but they were still a target nonetheless.

After a few days at sea, they docked in a different port on the eastern shores of Caax and the group didn’t waste any time heading to their next destination. There was a village a few hours away and there was still a lot of light left. They headed inland, staying parallel to the main road since the northenrn part of the river was mountainous and nearly impossible to cross. For the most part, things were smooth, but as they neared the village they found themselves ambushed by a handful of farmers turned bandits. 

“That’s some nice gear you got there. Why don’t you hand over that scythe?”

Magnar took hold of his scythe and took a defensive stance. “Over my dead body.” The scythe was his favorite tool to use in a fight.

“We can arrange that. There are only four of you. There are six of us!”

Dias smirked while Magnar laughed loudly. They were both confident that they wouldn’t have a problem, but Loke was always nervous about fighting things and people wasn’t on her list of favorite types of battles. But if the men were confident, then she didn’t have too much to worry about, but still needed to be able to defend herself. They were outnumbered and she didn’t have much in way of any offense. She could offer some defensive skills, but they still took a few seconds. Blu also needed a few extra seconds to attack anyone, since he had to load one pellet at a time. 

As expected, fighting the bandits seemed to go relatively quickly. Blu guarded Loke while she threw up defensive shields and occasionally would use her new slow ability. It was the first time everyone besides Dias had seen her use it and it almost distracted them from the remaining bandits. Once the battle was over, they set the bandits against trees so they wouldn’t get mistaken for corpses and continued along the road. 

“So, what was that fancy technique Loke?” Magnar didn't remember her using anything of the sort before.

“When I was trying to figure out what to do with your farm tools, I came up with that. It slows things down a lot so that you can maneuver around it. It really makes me tired when I use it though. I probably just need more practice with it.”

“Either way, it saved us a bit out there. Now let’s get to that village.” Magnar was too proud to blatantly give her any sort of thank you, but he was grateful for any bit of protection that they could get. He did notice her bracelet had a new charm on it, so it must have been related to that.

The village was in terrible condition when they arrived. So many people were peddling for food and money. The fields leading to the village looked shriveled and almost burnt. It was a terrible sight and all of them felt bad and didn’t have a good answer for how to lift their spirits. The people at the inn were overjoyed for visitors and while the cost seemed very low to the travelers, it was a lot of money for the innkeeper. They didn’t have much to offer by way of supper, but they graciously accepted the soup that was they were able to give. 

It was the same pattern for the next several villages that they journeyed to. Bandits not too far outside the villages, villages overly welcoming their money, and meager supplies were at each turn. Once they crossed the bridge at the northern end of the river, the earth seemed slightly more fertile. There was a fishing village that had grown into a decent sized city and was still somewhat prosperous that they decided to stay at for the night. With a night that all of them could rest well, the rest of the trip along the northern coast to the Great Southern Bridge would be an easy hike.

The fishing city was bustling and it was hard to believe that the previous villages they visited were even the same country. Items were a little more expensive, but it was the best they’d eaten since they’ve returned to Caax. Divided into pairs, they explored the city before meeting back at the inn. Blu paired off with Loke and she left most of the talking to people to Blu. She knew she had a tendency of saying something that could identify her as a believer, so she mostly remained silent. Blu didn’t readily speak with strangers, so most of their efforts were of an observational and visual nature. Magnar and Dias also exchanged few words between each other, but both were far more proficient at chatting with the villagers. 

Once they reunited over a hot meal, they shared the little information they had gathered. Loke and Blu heard rumors that they were still wanted and did their best to not draw any attention to themselves, especially around the ones that seemed to be actively looking. Magnar and Dias learned similar, but were given a name of someone likely to show them to an untraveled road, for a price. 

“You Caax people like payment for anything, don’t you? Do none of you do anything out of kindness?” Loke glared at Magnar.

Magnar shrugged and didn’t bother to look at her directly. “We’re poor folk. It’s the only way to get ahead here. I mean, we’re kind enough, but we like to be compensated for our efforts. Wouldn’t you?”

“I would like to think that if it wasn’t really any sort of inconvenience, I wouldn’t demand money for it.”

“I haven’t heard the people of Holom being all that generous though. It seems like you are more the anomaly.”

“It might be true that people of Holom tend to keep to themselves, but it doesn’t mean they extort everyone for all that they have.”

“No one said they were taking everything we have. Though, if you don’t have enough for my fee, tell me know and I’ll just go home.”

“I should just cancel your contract anyway. But then, wouldn’t your little map making adventure end prematurely?”

“It isn’t like I can’t go back and map it all later.”

“True, but would you be paid for it? Not to mention, it isn’t like you’re making any money on your farm.”

Loke and Magnar growled at each other with hard stares and then went about their own dinners. Blu and Dias let them argue and mostly enjoyed the banter as long as it didn't divide the group. Dias was getting a handle on the group dynamic and for the most part, was satisfied that things weren’t as bad as he thought. However, he surmised that there were still enough important secrets that everyone was keeping from each other that at some point might prove to be a dividing point. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but for now he would stick around and observe them. Blu was mostly confused about their dynamic. There were times like these where they simply argued and he thought they really didn’t like each other much, but at times he could see them actually being civil and even more occasionally, somewhat nice to each other. They talked with each other a lot more often without fighting. He still felt a little outside of things, but Loke often tried to include him often and never left him out. 

With not much left of value being discussed after their spat, it did seem that they would be paying for the small bit of information. Hopefully they could return to normal before morning or else the trip to Yopa would be a bit trying for Dias and Blu. They were given two separate rooms and had Blu stay with Loke and Dias sharing with Magnar. Loke didn’t think about the implications about sharing a room with men, but since Blu was young enough, the others were at least wary of outside gossip. If they wanted to not be obvious, then they shouldn’t do anything that would draw attention. 

“Loke, why do you fight with Magnar so much?”

“Hm? Because he’s greedy and indignant.” 

Blu didn’t really want to argue with her, and sometimes he was, but tonight she did instigate him a little more than usual. “Don’t you worry that he’ll just quit? I mean, I would do my best to take his place, but I don’t think I can protect you like he can.”

She smiled and put her hand on his head. “That’s super sweet, but don’t worry about it. I don’t think he’ll do that, but if something like that would happen, I would probably just go home and try to find a better guide for all of us. He’s the same as us, so I guess I shouldn’t agitate him as much, but he tends to push the wrong buttons sometimes.”

He nodded and let the topic drop and moved on to a different topic. “I was wondering, what does a head priestess do?”

Blu hadn’t asked her much about things pertaining to the Biyeho, the occasional question, but nothing so broad. She was a little surprised but excited to impart her knowledge. “You only knew the ones in Teo from the orphanage, right?”  
He nodded, but sat in a very attentive manner.

“Ok, so for the Biyeho, there are a lot of different gods to worship and a lot of different ways to pay homage to them. Most regular people are familiar with the few gods their families tend to have in mind for their offerings. To go a little beyond that, there are usually local priests and priestesses that will help guide people when they have concerns or troubles. They are familiar with most of the different gods of the area and the rituals that might relate to them. The next step up is the regional priests and priestesses. Those are the head priests and priestesses. To qualify for that level, you need to have extensive knowledge of many, many gods, rituals, ceremonies, histories, and all sorts of nuanced parts of the religion. And even still there is a lot that isn’t known to each of us. What I know isn’t the same as what the ones in Teo knew. There is a lot of overlap and the general stories are well known, but with as many gods as there are, it would be nearly impossible to know all of them. I’m sure one day, someone would, but I would fathom that they would be blessed by the god of knowledge, if not actually being the god of knowledge themselves. Does that make any sense?”

“So, you know a lot about a lot of gods and how to worship them?”

“In a nutshell, yes.”

“That’s pretty amazing. But it looks like you’ve been through that book so many times, haven’t you memorized it all?”

She looked at the book she had clenched in her arms. “I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve read it, but somehow, every time I read it, it feels like there is something new for me to find and learn. Plus, while I am quite familiar with a lot of symbols, there are still things that I need reference for so that I don’t do something wrong just by being off a little bit. I wouldn’t want to invoke the wrath of an angry god when trying for something more peaceful.”

“That’s true…”

It looked like Blu wanted to ask something else, but it didn’t look like it was coming to mind. “If you want me to tell you any of the stories, I’ll be happy to. But maybe tomorrow night. One long explanation at a time seems to be a good pace for now. I know a little of Tumben as well, but I don’t want to overwhelm you, not to mention, I wouldn’t want to risk being overheard or something. We are still in Caax. They don't exactly like people like me right now.”

“Sounds great! I would love to hear more stories. I reread that one you picked up in the orphanage every night, actually.”

“Good! The god of protection is one that everyone is usually familiar with and is a great story, even if the details get changed from storyteller to storyteller, but the theme is always still the same. But try to keep that book safe. It seems to have survived destruction, so it must have some protection of its own.”

Meanwhile, across the hall, Dias and Magnar were discussing banter in their own way. 

“Can you believe her accusations? I mean, who wouldn’t want to be paid for their services? I get that she’s all high up and all, but she can’t expect everyone to be like her. Besides, we’re all suffering in this country. Even though this town seems to be bustling, they have problems just as we do.”

“I understand, but also, I do sympathize with her. Remember, I was there in the war. I’ve seen a lot of people do things simply for the sake of others and harm for the sake of who they were. There are all kinds and while seeing things from a different perspective can be difficult, it would be best if both of you could somehow see each other’s perspective from time to time.”

Magnar really didn’t want to hear any of the doctor’s preaching. He understood the sentiment, but at the same time, if he had to look at her perspective, then she should look at his. Though, it wasn’t as though he would instantly agree, either. “The war, what was it like? We didn’t have a lot of direct impact back then, which, I guess was good, but a lot of farmers ended up going to fight in Nich and never came back. Then the whole thing with the genocide started really strong in Caax. Teo is especially bad.”

“I’ve heard a lot about Teo. Honestly, the battle ground might be a better place than being a believer in that city. At least on the battlefield, everyone had their fair chance versus being taken in the middle of the night or in the middle of daily activities and strung up on the gallows for everyone to watch.”

“I don’t know how the people in the city can just watch it, either. I didn’t know the people that we saw in the square very well, but Loke did. It hit her hard, obviously, but everyone else seemed almost blood thirsty. I mean, there were a few that were crying at the whole concept, but overall, it was pretty hostile.”

Dias seemed to be reflecting seriously on the discussion, for once. "I worry for everyone in Teo. It sounds like the kind of situation where they might just accuse anyone just to keep up the spectacle.”

“I hope that doesn’t happen, but I feel like it could. Targeting us is one thing, but those other people are what they want to fill the city.”

“Then, we should try and support Loke and find some of the other believers she is looking for and figure out how to come to some sort of compromise.”

Magnar agreed, but he had plenty of doubts. “Do you think she could do anything like that? I mean, she’s clearly smart, but there aren’t many of us and one person can’t make everything stop.”

“But she’s not one person. There are four of us. And the more she finds, the more people will be there to support her. I did want to ask you something about her.”

“I don’t know too much, but I’ll give it a go.”

“Have you noticed the marks under her eyes? They’re very faint, but they don’t look like typical beauty marks.”

“Blu mentioned them, but I haven't paid too much attention to them. What would they be if they weren't?"

“I don’t know. I was a bit curious. I’m used to obvious injuries and trauma from the battlefield, but I don’t think it would be anything serious. Anyway, we will try and get closer to Yopa tomorrow. I would like to find that village in Yopa for my own concerns.”

“Yeah, I have no idea how to find a village of people that don’t want to be found, though.”

“I think it’ll all somehow work out.”

Despite all their arguing, Loke and Magnar seemed to be back to their usual selves in the morning when they went to talk to the guide. It didn’t seem to cost all that much, but the man was obviously a little curious about them. Dias played it off as a group of researchers trying to learn more about the world. It wasn’t much of a stretch. They all had things to learn as they traveled. Luckily, Magnar was fast thinking and showed the guide one of his in progress maps. It seemed to make him happy, at least. 

Once they were on the old, overgrown road, they continued north and west until the Great Southern Bridge was visible. It was already late afternoon and they were hoping to get into Yopa before the sun set, so at the very least, they weren’t in Caax if they needed to camp somewhere. They had been very fortunate with villages, but now that they were about to head into unchartered territory, they would likely have to camp somewhere but they had some piece of mind as they had appropriate supplies. Once they got close to the bridge they found it being guarded by several Caax farmers. 

“Hello fellow farming folk!” Magnar wanted to try and play a kinship card and get them out of Caax as quickly as possible. “What’s going on?”

“I’m afraid no one is permitted to leave Caax. Palen’s orders.”

“I hadn’t heard. What’s going on?” Magnar's eye twitched a little at the mention of Palen.

“Someone tried to set fire to a large part of Teo. Probably some stray believers still around. So, unless you have a valid pass, you can’t leave the country. No offense.”

Magnar went back to the waiting group. “Seems like you need a pass to leave Caax. Palen’s decreed some garbage about believers around and a fire in Teo. These guys don’t look like much of a fighting pair, but I would rather not have to hurt them.”

Blu took a quick glance at the farmers that were watching them. “They’re probably like the bandits we came across before, but this time they took a job from someone instead of just attacking people.”

“That’s optimistic, Blu, but that doesn’t quite solve our problems. Did they say how to get a pass?” Dias pointed out the next obvious question.

Magnar had a thought and he raised his finger to pause their conversation and went back to the farmer-soldiers.

“Ok, so we don’t have a pass. We’ve been traveling around the countryside for a while now, so we didn’t know anything about it. Any idea how or where we can get one?”

The farmer-soldiers were silent for a minute before one admitted they didn’t know. “Sorry. We were just told not to let anyone out without a pass and to take care of any believers we meet.”

“I see. So, what if I told you we aren’t believers? I mean, I’m a broke farmer like you guys. I’m from the west a bit, but we came to see how things were in the east and it doesn’t seem any better. Between you and me, I was hoping to see what kinds of things Yopa has for crops. I mean, I don’t think their climate isn’t that much different than ours, they just have more trees. So we should be able to get something useful from there to grow here, right?” He was trying anything to get them to let the party through.

“It’s a good thought, but we still can’t let you go. I mean, we don’t have any money either, and this is our job. If we do a good job, we get paid. Plain and simple.”

“No, that’s fine. We’ll figure out how to get a pass, or something.” The or something was probably the more likely of options. 

Magnar reported back to the others and they deliberated for a few moments. The water was down some steep cliffs, so they couldn’t swim or take a boat across, even if they had one. Not to mention, it was a rather long distance between countries, they would probably all die of hypothermia before they reached Yopa.

Finally, Magnar’s body language changed and he exclaimed he had an idea. “Loke, you’re the only girl in this group. They’re pretty simple folk, maybe you can flirt with them or something.”

Loke, Blu, and Dias all looked at Magnar in near disbelief and shock. 

“You do realize what you just asked me to do.” Loke was less than pleased about the suggestion.

“Hate to say it, but I don’t think that is something Loke could do.” Dias sighed instead of bursting out into laughter. It was a suggestion, at least.

“I don’t think she couldn’t, but I don’t think she should. I mean, wouldn’t that put her in danger if they didn’t go for it?” Blu didn't like the idea at all and while he was somewhat naïve, he wasn't that naïve.

Magnar admitted defeat and went back to brainstorming. They needed to get across the bridge soon, but at this rate they were going to get stuck here with almost no cover. 

“I have an idea.” Loke looked at everyone’s surprised faces. “What? I’m not without practical ideas. Anyway, these guys can’t stay here all the time, right? They have to have shifts. So if we just lay low and when the shift change happens, then we make our move. If we run for it, we might be able to get past them with minimal injury.”

“That actually might work.” Magnar was trying to be encouraging, but it came out as amazement.

“Don’t sound so surprised. I may have a head full of what most people find useless, but I’m not stupid.”

“It’s a fairly good idea, but we have a lot of supplies, they’re bound to run much faster than us.” Though, sometimes Dias thought he was carrying the bulk of it.

“I thought of that too. But we can counter it. We’ll send Blu and Magnar first. Once they act as the distraction, I’ll use the slow skill and Dias and I will follow. It should buy us enough time to get past them and if they start to catch us, I’ll use it again.”

Blu looked worried. “But you can only use it a few times until you’re completely exhausted.”

“If it gets us across the bridge, then it’ll be fine. I’ll manage.” She was up to three uses before her entire body felt drained of all energy. 

As the group's physician, Loke’s condition was of concern to Dias. “It sounds like our best option. We’ll just have to find a good place to loiter until then that is close enough, but not too far to miss our window. Loke, don’t exert yourself too much. If it comes to it, we’ll handle whoever chases us. 

The area was mostly open fields with a few trees here and there. They scouted the nearest tree and got themselves comfortable, looking like they were intending to stay for the night. They could see the farmer-soldiers watching them, so they started collecting firewood and other typical camping things. It seemed to take forever for the shift change to happen, but as the sun was starting to set, a new pair of farmers turned soldiers were starting to come near the bridge. At the bridge, the four were having a conversation, where they got pointed at and it seemed like they were explaining the situation to the others taking over. Once it seemed like the first pair were leaving, the new duo were still chatting between themselves which gave Blu and Magnar a chance to get into better position. At one point, they burst into laughter and the one has his back turned completely to them. That was when they made a break for it. It took a few seconds for them to react to Magnar and Blu, but just as they did, Loke recited a short chant and they were moving in extreme slow motion as Dias grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the bridge to try and catch up to the others. About half way, they could hear the yells of the farmer-soldiers chasing. Loke couldn’t stop them again until they were closer, but they still kept running. The Great Southern Bridge was living up to its name as they were exhausted and not even close to the other side. The sun was all but set and seeing land at the other end was almost impossible. They had no idea what was or could be waiting for them on the other side. 

About two thirds of the way across the bridge, the farmer-soldiers were gaining on them. They were quite fit since they were laborers and aside from Magnar, everyone else was not used to running so much and were rapidly slowing down. Loke was falling behind the others, despite Dias’ best efforts to keep her up with the rest of them. Her hand slipped out of his and she fell to her knees. Before anyone could turn around to come back for her, the farmer-soldiers were almost upon her. She pulled the engraving tool from her book and swirled a complex design into the dust on the bridge as fast as she could while chanting. Just as she finished, the men were back to slow motion and she felt Magnar grab her and threw her over his shoulder. 

“I’m not even going to ask what you just did, but we’re almost there.”

“Hopefully, I slowed them down for twice as long. I’m sorry I’m such a burden. I know I’m not physically capable of a lot of things.”

“Save it for later. Let’s just get to Yopa. They can’t follow us once we get there. At least, I hope not.”

They made it across the bridge and were greeted by a dense field of wildflowers. They all nearly collapsed, but trudged a little further to the edge of a patch of woods that weren’t too far away. They managed the bare minimum to set up camp and after deciding a watch schedule, let their bodies get the rest that they craved.


	5. Chapter 5 - Finding Seibal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally in Yopa, the group looks for the village that moved from Nich - Seibal. When will they find it? What lies in wait for them there when they do find it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little long, but I hope you enjoy it :)

Dias opted to let Loke sleep and took over her watch shift in the early morning. He was tired, but he could go a lot further on little sleep than she could, especially after she exhausted herself. Magnar was the first one up and sat n ext to Dias.

“Loke not get up?”

“I didn’t wake her. She needs the sleep more than I do. She should really get some good rest.”

“Probably right. But are you going to be ok?”

“I’ll be fine. During the war I had to go several days without sleep while tending to wounds. Our physically inferior priestess is nothing to worry about. Though, you seem a little troubled.”

Magnar didn’t really want to talk about it. Loke was paying him to protect her, yet she had fallen so far behind and he wasn’t there to protect her. She managed to protect herself in the last moment, but it didn’t need to end up that way. “Nah, I’m alright. Just a bit concerned about the farmers guarding the bridge. They’re not trained soldiers, they’re just farmers.”

“You’re just a farmer as well, are you not?”

“Generally, yeah.” He couldn’t really disagree. “But, I’ve been doing the escort and bodyguard thing for a long time now. Most of these guys never did anything of the sort.”

Dias didn’t believe that was all that was on his mind, but didn’t bother pushing the issue. “I’m going to start preparing breakfast. I’m sure they’ll be hungry when they get up.”

“I’ll go gather some more wood for the fire. Once everyone’s up and fed, we should start trying to figure out where to go in Yopa.”

The smell of food woke Blu as it was barely started and he helped Dias prepare the food. Loke didn’t manage to stir until it was almost ready. She woke in a panic, knowing she didn’t take her shift for the watch and stumbled out of her sleeping sack as she rushed to the group to apologize for oversleeping. No matter how much Dias tried to assure her that it wasn’t a problem, but she still felt bad about it. The majority won out and convinced her enough to let it go. 

Once breakfast was done and everything was packed up, they opted to just start heading north. None of them had any familiarity of Yopa, so they were just walking aimlessly. They followed the main road as much as they could and any intersections they discussed which path would be best. Along the way, Magnar would pause to update his map, which could come in handy if they needed to backtrack for any reason. 

Yopa’s forest was rather dense and even the road became hard to follow at times. Eventually they came upon a small village. The village only really had a handful of people and they weren’t very forthcoming with information. However, they did learn that most of the people in Yopa lived in small commune villages like this one. Supplies that villagers needed that weren’t able to be crafted from the land were sometimes bought from the major capital city towards the north, but the villagers tried to avoid the city as much as possible. The second village they came across was about as forthcoming with information as the first one, but they did offer them an area to set up camp within the village. Once they secured the area, they split up and went to talk to some of the people in the village, hoping to learn things on a personal basis instead of being intimidated by everyone as a group. Once it got dark, they got back together and pooled their information. 

“I didn’t find out a lot, but the city seems pretty rough. A lot of people are poor and even basic necessities are a little harder to find – unless you were a soldier and wanting to become one.” Blu thought about things in Teo and even though things there were rough, it didn’t sound as bad as it did here.

“I heard similar, myself. There are vigorous training sessions going on in larger towns and especially in the capital. I can’t help but wonder if they’re preparing for war, once again. War was bad enough once, I would rather not have to relive that experience if I could help it.” Dias had a lot of bad memories from the war and if Yopa was training for war again, then he would rather avoid wherever it was they were going to go after.

Magnar nodded. “Apparently, there have been some people coming up from Caax. Since the crop has been so poor, people are getting desperate. A handful of people have come up and given a few of the villages a lot of trouble. That probably explains why we’ve been met with a lot of resistance. Any luck on your end, Loke?”

“Actually, I might have. I was talking to some children and they said they heard of a village made of tree houses somewhere in the densest area of the forest. I don’t exactly know where that is, but if I was trying to hide from persecution, then hiding in a place no one was bound to find me makes a lot of sense. The forest is dense enough as it is, I couldn’t imagine where the densest part of the forest is.”

“Well, for the time being, maybe we should just follow the trail for a while and see where it leads. Or maybe we’ll find another village that might help us. I’m good with fields, not forest, but I’ll still map out our route. It’s very easy to get turned around in this place.” Magnar folded the paper he was working on. It was running out of space, but it should suffice for the time being.

“That’s for sure. Nich is mostly grassland, so there isn’t a lot of difficulty seeing things in the distance there, either.”

Blu looked like he had been mulling something over in his mind for a bit and finally broke in with an idea. “I might be able to help a little. When I was in the orphanage, we used to climb trees and play hide and seek all the time in the little bit of woods that we had nearby. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see anything, but I can try.”

“It can’t hurt anything. Well, except if you fall out of the tree. I don’t carry enough equipment to handle an injury that severe, so don’t fall out of a tree.” 

“I’ll try not to.” Blu was surprised Dias actually showed concern for his well being, even if it came off a bit dry. He couldn't help but feel happy about it.

Now that they had some sort of lead of where to go next, they were able to feel a little more comfortable for the night. The morning came quickly and the sound of children very close by woke the group. They were trying to go through their things, but they were all sleeping very lightly at this point, that simple noises would easily wake any of them. 

“Hey!” Magnar jumped up quickly to try to stop the kids.

“Magnar, stop.” Loke was trying to keep Magnar from upsetting the kids too much.  
Dias spoke while Loke tried to stop Magnar. “Can we help you with anything? You only have to ask us. We’re not scary.” He didn’t think they would be scary to children. Some people thought Dias looked scary, but he really wasn’t all that scary.

The kids looked nervous and embarrassed. “We just wanted to see what kind of things you had. We don’t meet new people and we don’t have things that you guys have.” 

“And you weren’t looking to keep stuff for yourself?”

“…maybe…”

“That isn’t very nice. What would happen if we got hurt in the forest and we were missing something important to take care of an injury? Wouldn’t that be sad?”

“…yes...”  
“We can show you some of our things, but you shouldn’t take others things without asking. It might be very important to them or it might even be something that could hurt you. Magnar’s tools are very sharp and you could get really hurt. You don’t want to get hurt, right?”

“…no…”

“Good. If you come back before we leave, we can show you some neat things, ok?”

“…ok…” The children had been substantially scared away but hopefully also learned an important lesson. They ran off with tears welling up in their eyes.

“So, think those kids are coming back?” Magnar started packing his gear.

“I don’t think so, but kids are an interesting lot, so they might be intrigued enough to see us off. Or at the very least, they might watch from a distance.” 

Dias’ second suggestion was the one that was the closest to true. A few of the villagers made sure they left the village without anything they didn’t arrive with already and the children lurked behind the adults while the group headed out of the village. They had a spark of curiosity, but at least had enough sense to not push the issue too far. 

A few hours into the depths of the forest, they decided that it might be a good place to try and see if Blu could learn anything. It was difficult enough to see from the ground, and no one really expected him to see anything different up in a tree. Blu found a tree that seemed to have enough branches for foot holds and branches close enough to grab along the way. Magnar gave him a boost into the tree and he easily maneuvered up the tree, a lot further than anyone expected him to. At some point he disappeared through the green foliage and they started to worry if he would be ok to come down or if some giant bird came by and ate him. Eventually, random sticks and leaves began to fall from the tree as Blu started to climb down and became visible once more. When he got closer to the bottom, he made everyone clear a space and jumped from the lowest branch he could. He dusted himself off and regained his orientation. 

“So, where we are now is pretty thick. I didn’t see anything denser off in the distance. I did notice something strange that I can’t quite describe a little further off to the west from here. I know the path doesn’t go that way, but if we can make our own path, then we should try and head that way. I think that might be our best chance if the information Loke got is true.”

“How’s the map going, Magnar?”

“Map is pretty good so far. Worried about getting lost?”

Loke gave him a look, but actually acknowledged him instead of leaving it at a glare. “I am, actually. But we should try going that way anyway, just in case.”

“Your money is my command." Magnar bowed mockingly. "Let’s try and find us some fancy village.”

Blu’s observations were quite helpful and after getting turned around a few times by non-existent paths and cleared areas that didn’t make any sense, they finally found something. It wasn’t what anyone expected, but as they walked along to a small clearing, the ground felt a little different under their feet. Before they could investigate or even really think about it, they found themselves falling into a pitfall. It wasn’t too deep, but it was deep enough to keep them from reaching the top. Either they found an enemy trap, or fell into a trap set for protection. 

Unable to get themselves free, they tried to get as comfortable as they could in the cramped hole. It was bad enough they fell on top of each other, but now they were cramped together in a rather uncomfortable manner. Dias did his best to try and patch up all the cuts and scrapes, but it was nearly impossible to move. With little else to do, Loke declared she was going to take a nap and Magnar agreed that it might not be a bad idea to rest while they could. Whenever someone came to get them, it could require all the energy they could muster. 

It wasn’t until after dark when someone came. They heard some chatter above them, but it was mostly indistinguishable. Someone was lowered in on a rope and held a knife that she pointed at each of them as she asked questions.

“Who are all of you?” She pointed the knife at Magnar.

“Me? I’m a farmer from Caax. He’s an orphan kid from Teo in Caax. She’s a historian from Holom and this guy is a doctor from Nich.”

She moved the knife to Dias next, but then decided to change to Blu for her next question. “What are you doing here?”

Blu didn’t want to blurt out the truth, but if this wasn’t the right people interrogating them, then they would certainly be in trouble. “We’re traveling around, trying to learn about the world. I don’t have a home, so I am tagging along with Loke and Magnar. Dias joined us since he didn’t have a place to call home either.”

The woman with the knife narrowed her eyes and put the knife next to Loke’s neck. Magnar silently cursed because he wasn’t near Loke to stop her from getting killed if this woman chose to act. “So, this boy called you Loke. And you’re a historian?”

“I am. Both statements are true.” It was close enough to the truth for now, at least.

“And if I were to ask you about the history of Uuc, you could tell us a thing or two?”

Loke’s eyes widened and she ultimately smiled. “I would love to discuss Uuc with you, if you wish to.”

Blu whispered to Dias, “What’s Uuc?”

The woman quickly brought the knife back to Blu. “Do not speak.” 

Blu stiffened and said nothing more. The woman kept the knife at a distance, but still addressed Loke. “Of Uuc and Kul, which should be the victor?”

Loke wasn’t even nervous. She knew who she was dealing with at this point and began to become excited. “One would expect Uuc to be able to stop Kul, but Kul had enough power to divert Uuc’s efforts. Essentially, they were equally matched.”

The woman said nothing but had those above pull her out of the hole. Shortly after, a rope with a foot hold was lowered into the hole. “The girl. She comes up.” A voice called from above. 

Loke took the rope without hesitation. Magnar started to protest, but Loke smiled and told him it was going to be alright. After Loke disappeared above, there was a bit of a gap in time. Magnar started to get anxious since she left with a smile, yet they were all still stuck in the hole. “Does she expect to leave us here?”

“Magnar, do you not know?” Dias was calm and was trying to calm Magnar down as well. “Uuc is the spirit of the earth and Kul is the spirit of the wind. The gods command those spirits to aid them. The symbol engraved on your equipment is Uuc in an old script.”

“Then, what is on the marbles she carved for me?” Blu was suddenly very interested and wondered more about what he was using.

Dias thought for a moment. The rope came down as he was about to answer and he handed it to Magnar. “Magnar, you go first. Protecting our priestess is your job.” Once Magnar was gone, there was a little more space and Blu was able to hand Dias one of his marbles. “To be honest, I can’t read the old scripts and runes. I’m familiar with the four basic, Uuc of the earth, Kul of the wind, Chaahk of the water, and Cab of fire, but this one I am unfamiliar with. Though, given what those do, I would suspect it might be one of the supplemental elements. You might want to talk to Loke about it later.” Dias had a good idea of what supplemental spirit it supported, but he didn’t want to provide any false information. 

“Oh, I see.” Blu was a little let down, but he knew if he asked Loke, she would probably give him a good lesson and he liked those from time to time.

The rope came down two more times. First Blu joined Loke and Magnar above, and then Dias finally left their pitfall prison. Once everyone was back on solid ground, a few men closed up the hole and the woman addressed the group. 

“I’m sorry for threatening you, but we can’t be too careful. I’m Cyrene, originally from Nich. We’ll take you to our village of Seibal. Loke’s explained everything and we’ll be happy to have you visit our village.”

“Is it really in the trees?” Blu didn’t see any traces of a village around on the ground, but he wondered if the rumors were true.

“It is. Please, follow me and I will guide you to Seibal. Try not to disturb the area around, as we would like to keep the area as secret as possible. The fact you found us worries me a little, but we’ll talk about things more in the village.”

Cyrene led them to a large tree and opened a hidden door. Inside the hollowed trunk, a ladder that seemed to go on forever was waiting for them. The men started to climb the ladder first, Loke to follow, then Cyrene and the men that came with her. Every so often, there were platforms to rest, but the ladder kept going further and further upward. The climbing order would change from time to time, based on who opted to rest, but eventually, they all reached the top. 

“These guys will take you to a place to rest during your visit and I will speak with the village leader.” Cyrene left the group to the men that were with her and headed up a different ladder.

The village was indeed in the treetops. Houses were built into the trees and connected through a series of bridges and rope lines. They were led along the wooden path and across a bridge to an empty room. 

“Cyrene will come back for you. Stay here.” One of the men gave them their instructions, closed the door, and disappeared.

“So, care to explain what’s going on, Loke?” Magnar sat on the ground, cross-legged and now crossed his arms. 

“This is the village of relocated believers from Nich. If they weren’t believers, they wouldn’t have known anything about the spirits. I would imagine that this village elder is some sort of priest or priestess that will want to talk to us about finding this place, for starters. To be honest, I expected to see more people in this village.”

Dias nodded. “I also expected to see more people. Hopefully what we see isn’t all there is, though, a place like this looks like it took an immense amount of work to build, I can’t imagine it they did so much in a short amount of time.”

The door opened and Cyrene stepped inside. “I need to bring Loke, and one other. It is up to all of you to decide.”

Blu looked at Magnar, as did Dias. Magnar rolled his eyes and got up off the ground. “I’ll go with her.”

“Please, follow me.” 

Loke and Magnar followed Cyrene down the boardwalk and across a few slatted bridges. Eventually, they reached the end of a platform and climbed one more ladder up. Cyrene held the door open and motioned for them to head inside.  
Inside the small room, it was dimly lit with a few candles and a bit of burning incense. In the back of the room, there was an older man, probably in his late forties, smoking some sort of ceremonial looking pipe. As they approached the man, Loke stopped and knelt on the floor, bowing in reverence before him. Magnar, not having any idea what was going on, clumsily followed suit. 

“You don’t need to prostrate before me. Lift your heads. I am Onslow, priest of Seibal in Yopa, former priest of Seibal in Nich. I have heard from Cyrene that you are also believers. Is this true?”

Loke sat upright on her knees. “Yes, each member that I am traveling with is a believer. Everyone has their own, separate experiences, so their knowledge varies, but I promise that I have not brought someone that would compromise your village.”

“I should hope not. Then, what background do both of you possess?”

This was definitely Loke’s strong suit, so Magnar held out his palm for her to go first.

“Me? Um, ok. I’m Loke Aumoe, high priestess of Holom City in Holom. I studied under the high priest and priestess that were recently executed in the capital city Teo, in Caax. I am currently trying to find other believers to evaluate how to proceed with so much hatred and continued and growing genocide against us.”

“A high priestess and on such a noble quest… please make yourself comfortable in our village. Now, you, sir, what is your history?”

“I’m a farmer from Caax. My name is Magnar Lunde. Loke hired me to be a guide and guard as she travels about.”

“And you believe in the gods of the old religion?”

“Yes, sir. There is a shrine in my modest home on the farm where offerings are frequently made to the god of agriculture and weather for a good crop harvest.”

“As most farmers tend to do. I pray that you have been able to learn things about the other gods as you have been traveling with Loke.”

“I have. There have been many opportunities to expand my basic knowledge and to participate in purification ceremonies.”

“Oh? That’s fantastic! Not everyone gets to participate in such things. That is quite an honor, you know.”

“I wasn’t aware, but I will reflect on the significance of my assistance.”

“Ha ha, very good. You two may return to the other room. Though, Cyrene, if you could bring the other two, I would like to speak to them as well.”

“Of course.” Cyrene led Loke and Magnar back to Blu and Dias, having them switch places and guiding Blu and Dias to speak to Onslow. 

Blu and Dias entered the room and where Loke was the initiator in kneeling and prostrating, Dias was the guide for Blu.  
Onslow laughed. “You are just like the other two. One was overly formal and the other a bit unsure. You two can relax. I’m Onslow, priest of Seibal – formerly Seibal of Nich and now Seibal of Yopa. Priestess Loke has informed me that you are both also believers and I am curious to hear your backgrounds.”

“I suppose I can start. I am Dias Meulo, of Nich. I am a physician that currently is migrating from area to area. I had treated many of both religions during the war.”

“I see. That’s to be commended. Your knowledge and gods of primary offering, I assume you make offerings to the god of health?”

“Health, yes. And protection and compassion, are others I tend to make many offerings to. Not all of my patients will have favorable outcomes, so if the god of compassion could be generous to not prolong their suffering.”

“That’s quite a sympathetic notion. I’m sure you are quite a fine physician. Now, young man, what is your story?”

Blu shifted awkwardly, but he didn’t think Onslow was someone to be afraid of. “Um, I was raised in the orphanage run by the old religion in Teo until it was taken over by the new religion. I was with everyone from our orphanage and those in the other orphanage for a few years before I left on my own. I didn’t appreciate how they were trying to essentially brainwash everyone to follow their religion. The priest and priestess didn’t explain things in too much detail, but we often made little offerings to only a few gods. Though, Loke explained a lot more about the actual religion. She’s been very kind to teach me things, and Dias too. He’s been able to explain things that I hadn’t known before.”

Onslow smiled. “That is fantastic, and I pray that the god of knowledge will bless you with even more knowledge and familiarity. You can rejoin your friends and please, make yourselves comfortable in the village. It might not be a very conventional village, but it is our new home.”

Blu and Dias thanked Onslow and followed Cyrene back to Loke and Magnar, who were already turning the room into temporary housing. 

“Welcome back. We set your gear to the side over there so that you can make your area as comfy as you want. Loke suggested we take our time here.” Magnar was setting out his blanket  
Dias frowned. “I would rather we not over stay our welcome. I know this village is already at risk based on its own existence, but allowing outsiders such as ourselves has increased their risk of discovery.”

Magnar understood his concerns but thought he was probably over reacting a little. “I don’t think you need to worry that much, Dias. Right Blu?” 

Blu nodded at Magnar, but looked over at Loke who was talking to Cyrene. 

“I do not know if Onslow will speak with you again. He has a lot of things to do, but I will ask. He has heard your plight and if he wishes to, he will send for you.”

“I understand. But if it is at all possible, I would like to have another audience with him.”

“I’ll pass along the message. For now, just get a good night’s rest with your friends.”

Cyrene left the room and another villager came entered a few moments later with some dinner for the group. They had spent much of the day cramped in a hole and even in the village, they hadn’t had an opportunity to eat. They had been ordered to provide supper to the group and when they came in, it was quite a large amount of food. All of them protested that it was way too much for them to accept, but since it was made especially for them, they resigned to accept it. After having their fill and Dias again suggesting that they limit their time in the village, they retired for the evening and would discuss things more the next day. Loke still wanted to speak with Onslow again, privately, about her concerns. Until then, she wasn’t planning on leaving Seibal.

Come morning, Loke and Magnar weren’t anywhere to be found, and Dias had noticed one of his scalpels was missing. Blu helped him look through everything for it, but they didn’t have much success. Magnar decided to wander around town a bit and create a map of the village. Loke went to find a private area where she could spend some time working on more of her research. She had been paying a bit of attention to Dias’ mannerisms and how he performed in battle and narrowed down the spirit she wanted to engrave onto Dias’ scalpels, even if he wasn’t willing to hand them over. She had no doubt he had an affinity for something and she wasn’t going to let him continue to put himself in danger with them without some sort of help from her. Cyrene was walking around the village looking for Loke to take her to see Onslow when there was a brief, bright flash of light behind one of the buildings at the opposite end of the village. 

Cyrene found Loke trying to find things with her hands on the ground and when she cleared her throat and Loke looked up in her direction, she noticed her pupils completely dilated. “Loke… can you not see me?”

“I do believe I might have been blinded a bit. I think it’s temporary, though. Could you please help me collect my items?”

“You’re rather calm for such an incident. Are you going to be alright? What happened here?”

“I should be fine. I need to return this scalpel to Dias, though. I’m certain he’ll be missing it. I was just trying to help out Dias and was running a brief experiment.”

“I can return it to him, but for now, Onslow wanted to speak with you. Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”

“That would be fantastic. I haven’t made him wait too long, have I?”

“No, he just asked for me to find you. Since you’re having a bit of a difficult time, I will guide you there so you don’t fall out of the trees.”

Cyrene seemed a little nicer today, Loke thought. She was mostly standoffish but today she was a lot warmer. Loke made it up the final ladder without too much help and waited for Cyrene to guide her into the room. She still had almost no vision, but she felt like it was getting a little bit better as time was going by.

“Onslow, I brought Loke, but she seems to have had a bit of an incident and is having a bit of a difficult time seeing. Do you need me to stay and assist her?”

“No, it should be fine, Cyrene. I’ll be home in a little while. Let her friends know that she’ll be with me for a bit.”

Cyrene nodded and left the room. Onslow guided Loke to a cushion to sit on and sat across from her. “So, I heard you wanted to talk with me. I assume it is about the whole genocide thing.”

“Yes. I was curious about the conditions in all the different countries and if there are any ideas for combating the general hatred and genocide that especially rampant in Caax.”

Onslow and Loke spoke at great length in the dimmed room about conditions in Nich and their relocation to Yopa. They hadn’t come up with any great ideas to solve the problems, but Loke already felt far more encouraged by their discussion. By the time she left, her vision had mostly returned and she was able to return to the room where the others should have been – but weren’t. Curious to where they were, she wandered around the small village until she found them.

While Loke was speaking with Onslow, Cyrene had returned Dias’ scalpel and invited everyone to her home for dinner later that night. She knew Onslow could talk for a long time, and she suspected that a conversation amongst people of their level could continue on at great lengths. She wasn’t wrong. It was already time for dinner and everyone was present and ready to eat except for Loke and Onslow. Onslow returned first, since it was his home, but Loke took a little bit longer. Onslow had forgotten to mention dinner and when Loke did arrive, Onslow got a silent berating from Cyrene. Regardless, everyone was jovial and was enjoying a relaxing dinner. 

Dinner was brought to a rapid close with the sounds of screaming and shouting from the outside. One of the men that was with Cyrene down on the forest floor poked his head inside. “The village is on fire. You should escape out the back exit. We’ll get everyone out”

As if one body, Loke, Magnar, Blu, and Dias all rose from the table and ran to their lodgings. Magnar lingered behind for a brief moment to speak to Onslow and Cyrene. “Please leave with the rest of the village. We’ll take care of the fire and will find you after.” He worried that Dias’ fears were coming true.

Magnar rejoined the others and they went through the main entrance to try to face those that were setting fire to the village. Going down was a lot easier, but the distance was quite great. They saved some time by jumping to the landings when they felt it was a safe height, but it was still felt like it was taking a long time. On the way down, Dias confronted Loke about the scalpel. He was protective of his tools and was very displeased that she went against his previous protests about it.

“What did you inscribe on this scalpel, Loke? What did you take it for?”

“It’s the symbol of Kichi. When you use it, recite the offering words. It should enhance its abilities.” Loke dropped to the next platform with a thud. “I’m certain you have an affinity to light.”

“I don’t know how you came to that conclusion, but I feel like you might be mistaken. And I never asked for any modifications.”

“I know. But just try it, please. I only want to help.”

Dias understood her desire to help, but still was frustrated at her defiance to his requests. 

“Dias, just go with it. She was right about mine and did amazing work with Blu’s stuff. You never know when it comes in handy.”

Once they reached the bottom, they rushed out into the clearing where a number of soldiers were launching fire arrows up into the trees. Magnar shouted at them, mostly to draw their attention and get them to stop setting fire to the village.

“So, it looks like the village sent out some rag tag group to stop us.” The soldier burst out into laughter while the others joined him in his humor.

“We aren’t villagers from this village, but we don’t appreciate you burning down the forest. There are a lot of other people and wildlife here that this fire impacts, you know.” Magnar looked up at the fire and back at the soldiers with rage in his eyes.

“That’s not something that we bother with. We’re just here to get vermin like you.”

The group engaged the soldiers and while some were easier to deal with, but as the fight wore on, it became increasingly difficult to render the soldiers immobile or unconscious. Loke had gotten as close to the core of the group as she could to minimize how much area she needed to cover, but she was trying desperately to stay out of Magnar and Dias’ way as they were physically engaging the soldiers. Ultimately, they defeated the soldiers and although they were exhausted, they made their way through the trees to try and find the villagers. Cyrene found them first and guided them to the rest of the villagers. 

One of the children came up to Cyrene and tugged on her sweater. “Miss ‘rene, where are we gonna go?”

“I’m not sure yet, but Onslow will guide us to safety once again. We’ll rebuild again, don’t worry.” Cyrene really had no idea what they were going to do now. 

“If I may, Cyrene, Onslow, I have a suggestion. It isn’t exactly the most optimal, but it might be the only one we have at the moment.”

“I’m open to all suggestions, Loke. What do you have in mind?” Onslow was completely out of ideas for the immediate time. 

“We should guide the villagers to Holom. Holom isn’t the best place to take everyone, but it is still largely full of believers and when I left, it was generally safe. There are a lot of people against us, but at the very least, you don’t have to worry about things like in Teo.”

“It’s the best option we have, but the only way to Holom is through Caax. Can you get us through Caax safely?” Cyrene worried most about everyone's safety, especially after losing so many when leaving Nich.

Magnar pulled out his map of Caax. “It won’t be easy, especially with this many people, but I can do my best to keep us in safer areas. We’ll pass a the way we used to get here, but avoid the villages we stopped at along the way. I suspect they might have been partially responsible for what happened today. Crossing the bridge will be difficult, but we’ll come up with a strategy along the way. Once we get to Caax, I should be able to avoid hot spots and get everyone across the border to Holom. It might be rough because we’ll need to avoid roads for much of it.”

“It is already late, we should find a safe place to sleep for the night. I also would like to have a better look at the wounded. Blu, if you could continue to help with basic bandages, I would appreciate it.” Dias was taking a quick inventory of his supplies.

“Of course. I would love to.”

They didn’t really find a good place to camp, but it was enough for the group to keep the villagers safe for the night. It was slower moving through the forest to get back to Caax, but they were still covering good ground. They were getting closer to the bridge and were going to need to come up with some sort of strategy to get everyone across. It wasn’t like last time, where they made a break for it and were safe once they were across. This time they had to get a village across and remain in the country, so they couldn’t afford to be chased or followed. 

The final plan for getting out of Yopa was to send Magnar ahead of everyone else and try to bribe or make some sort of arrangement so that they could get through as undetected as possible. Blu went with him, but would wait at the halfway point so that he could relay the message to everyone faster. They all were hiding just inside the forest, waiting for Blu’s instruction, but it was a difficult wait. Everyone was tired and they all knew that it was going to be even more difficult once they reached Caax. The smaller children were having the most difficult with the journey. They were already scared from the fire, but they were now also afraid of the animals that would attack from time to time. Loke wanted to get them to safety as soon as possible.  
Together with Onslow, Loke set up a makeshift ritual space and they made a simple offering to the god of fortune to smile on Magnar’s attempts. It was all they could do from their position and with all the villagers lending their support and offering their words, surely the god would smile upon them.

It felt like forever when Blu finally returned, but even though he was almost out of breath and exhausted, he returned with a smile on his face. “Magnar managed to do it. He’s waiting on the bridge, but we have to get to the other side before dawn. The shift change is at dawn and for us to be able to cross without being pursued we need to go as soon as possible.”

Onslow and Cyrene got the villagers together and led them across the bridge, with Loke and Blu on the sides and Dias following up the rear. It was getting closer to dawn as the entire village reached the other side, but Magnar was waiting for them and talking with the guards. The guards’ backs were to them as they passed by as quietly as possible and walked along the coastline. Loke watched for Magnar as long as she could, but at some point, he faded from their view. A short time after dawn, Magnar caught up to the village and spoke briefly with Dias before coming up to speak with Loke.

“We should probably stop soon. According to the map, there’s a small wooded area that we should be able to take cover in, but it won’t be very comfortable for the kids, or anyone really, but we can’t just stay out in the open fields.”

“I’m sure we’ll all manage for the time being, but how did you convince the guards?”

“They’re farmers. I gave them advice that should help them with their crops next year so they’ll fail less. Well, that and some hybrid seeds that withstand drought a little better.”

“You were carrying seeds?”

“Never know when they’d be needed. Anyway, I’m going to go guide the group from here. Anything happens, don’t take it on yourself.”

“As if I would.”

They did make it to the wooded area safely, but everyone was exhausted and, as Magnar predicted, everyone was uncomfortable. The adults understood and were less likely to complain but the youngest children were either busy playing around or extra cranky. Once everyone was as settled as they could be and those leading the group had gotten some sleep, the four travelers and the two that seemed to be in charge of the village sat together for a brief meeting to talk about their next steps.

“I’ve highlighted a few areas that might be safer to stop and have everyone rest.”

“Magnar, this place here is out in the open. I can’t let the villagers stay out in the open like this.” Cyrene frowned and looked at the map for a different wooded area, but didn’t really see any.

“This place is fine. It’s my farm. I don’t have a lot of room in the house, since it’s pretty small, but it should be good for the young kids and I have two outbuildings that people can stay in. It will be tight, but at least it is definitely safe.”

“Would it be possible to let them stay at your farm for a little while? I’m thinking of going ahead to Holom to arrange a place for everyone. If we all just walked into the city, there wouldn’t be anywhere for everyone to have a home.”

“I suppose, but Caax has been known to have people check on the farms from time to time…”

“I’m sure we can come up with some story. We’re all very good at hiding.” 

“But Onslow, that’s quite a lot of people to hide from the investigators. The house and outbuildings aren’t going to be enough for them all to hide well enough.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll manage. You got caught up in our plight and we couldn’t thank you enough for everything you’re doing for us here. This is far beyond any expectations.”

“Loke, do you think you can find something quickly for them? I hate leaving them all in my farm while we go to Holom, but at the same time, maybe we can leave Dias and Blu with them while we look around.”

Blu looked uncomfortable about that suggestion. He didn’t hate it, since he could try and get Dias to teach him more things, but at the same time, he wanted to continue to travel with Loke. 

“I don’t have too much of an argument either way. If you wish for me to stay and help with everyone here, I can do that. Blu has been very helpful along the way with helping me take care of those with some minor injuries.”

Blu flushed brightly with the compliment. He didn’t think that Dias even noticed him all that much, but for him to compliment him, it was a little overwhelming.

Loke’s brow furrowed while she thought about the proposition. “I don’t know how long it would take, but it might be a viable option. I do have clearance to speak with Edras, so, we might be able to get some sort of amnesty. However, Edras is a different problem on its own.”

“Who is Edras?” Magnar figured he was someone really important, but he figured not everyone here knew either.

“Edras is the current ruler of Holom, in a way. He is definitely one of the new religion but because of how many people of the old religion still reside in Holom, he hasn’t proceeded with anything drastic. However, he has been trying to secretly create some restrictive rules against us, so it could be a challenge. But if we bring in a whole village of people unannounced, it might be even more disastrous.”

“And you meeting with him could get us a safe place to rebuild our village?”

“Cyrene, they’ll do their best. Let’s just leave it to them.” Onslow was trying to keep Cyrene calm. 

“It is worth a try.” Loke knew that even if Edras didn’t like it, she had a card up her sleeve she could play, but it would be a last resort. “We’ll head out tomorrow for the next point Magnar plotted, then, when we get to the farm, we’ll head out from there to try and secure you a place for Seibal to rebuild.”

“May the gods bless you with good fortune.”

“We can prepare a special offering before we depart for Holom. I would definitely like to make sure everyone is protected as well.”

The trip to Magnar’s farm was a little rougher than they all hoped. Several people had developed high fevers and there were quite a few sprains and a couple of broken bones. Once they reached the farm, Dias didn’t waste any time tending to the sick and injured with Blu trailing close behind him. Magnar did his best to rearrange a number of furniture pieces and farm equipment so that more people could stay in the two outbuildings. Loke and Onslow were preparing a ceremony for a rather involved ritual, with the aid of Cyrene. 

Once sun set and a number of villagers set to work making a dinner for everyone that could refill their stomachs and their spirits (although leaving Magnar’s food storage a bit emptier), Loke and Onslow led everyone behind the house to where they had set up a small altar of sorts. Everyone had gathered and knelt in an organized fashion behind the altar area. Cyrene stood to the side to act as an assistant. It was rare for her to not be part of the ceremony, but for a priest and high priestess to be able to perform such a thing together was a rare sight and she was almost overwhelmed with emotion. 

On the makeshift altar, several bowls with fruits and nuts were placed along the front edge. A small bowl of oil and a bowl of herbs were placed on the back edge near Loke and Onslow. A dish was placed in the center of the table with some kindling and a small fire was lit on the plate. They began the ceremony with a melodic chanting in synch and not becoming maligned at any point. During the chants, Loke spread some of the herbs in a particular pattern across the altar on her side and Onslow traced over them with the oil. On the other side, Cyrene placed a bowl of water for them to cleanse their hands. Once their hands had been cleaned and Cyrene removed the bowl, a small twig was ignited by the fire and placed along the oil and herbs. As expected, the fire flared briefly, but settled quickly and was left burning in the shape that the oil had traced out. The fragrance from the herbs was pleasant but permeated through the group. The chanting began once again, this time with them alternating between passages. While one chanted, the other set fruit and nuts along the burning pattern. As the chanting ended, the fire was all but out and the smell of herbs still lingered in the air, as well as the smell of roasted nuts and fruit. Loke collected the fruit into one larger bowl while Onslow collected the nuts into another. Walking towards the rest of the group, they passed out the items and encouraged them to be eaten by everyone. The sharing of the offerings marked the end of their ceremony and once the bowls were empty, the fire had been burnt itself out and Cyrene had begun to clean the altar so that it could be dismantled to have the evidence removed. 

Most of the villagers had gone to find their places to sleep while Cyrene, Dias, and Magnar cleaned up from the ceremony. Onslow had gone with the villagers, as he was quite tired from the ceremony. Loke was pretty tired herself, but Blu stopped to talk with her briefly.

“I know that you’re probably very tired from that amazing ceremony, but I was wondering if you could teach me a little more before you leave tomorrow.”

“Of course. Let’s sit on the porch.” The porch was full of extra furniture from the inside of the house, but Loke got comfortable on top of a few crates while Blu sat on an end table. “Was there anything in particular you were curious about?”

“When we were in the hole in Yopa, Dias had mentioned something about some spirits and I was wondering how those related to the gods. What are the spirits?”

“They didn’t cover too much in that orphanage, did they? Ok, well, stop me if it gets confusing. You are already familiar that there are pretty much gods for just about everything, right?”

Blu nodded and looked at her with great interest.

“Well, while there are gods for just about everything, gods are mortal, in a sense. If they aren’t currently walking among us, their souls are waiting for someone that they deem worthy enough to inhabit. Gods’ souls are a little different. They have the ability to fuse with your existing soul. That is why they aren’t explicitly born into the world as we are, but they are always watching us. When they determine someone exemplifies their particular gift, they will fuse with that soul and that person will become the embodiment of that god. It isn’t all of a sudden, though. And sometimes the god doesn’t fuse with a person at all but will lend someone their powers, so that person will have said to be carrying the power of a god. Still with me?”

“Yes. So, like, if one of the gods that is watching us decides that someone is say, super patient, the god of patience may decide to become that person?”

“Essentially, yes. Now, in regards to the spirits, the spirits are immortal. They’re simply spirits of the main elementals of the world. The basic ones most people remember is earth, water, fire, and air. There are additional ones that aren’t really thought about as often, but are equally important. For instance, whenever I inscribe those marbles, I use the symbol of Hura, spirit of lightning. The spirits aren’t related to any god in particular and will come usually to the aid of those that offer their words of belief towards them, that is, if they have an affinity towards that element. You were already using the pellets from before, so Hura had already aligned with you. When I was trying to help Dias and Magnar, I was having difficulties with my inscriptions because I don’t have an affinity towards Uuc of earth or Kichi of light. But the charms I’ve created for my bracelet are the markings of the spirit of time, Alom, which I seem to have some affinity towards.”

“Oh, so even if you wanted to use my weapon, you couldn’t?”

“Not very well. There is a good possibility I would get shocked in the process, making it a bit of a double edged sword. But does that answer your questions?”

“Mostly, yeah. I guess I can ask the other villagers when I have questions while you’re in Holom.”

“Hopefully they will give you a good education. Now let’s get some sleep. Make sure to help Dias with the sick, ok?”

“You got it. Thanks again, Loke. I wish I was able to learn this stuff at the orphanage.”


	6. Holom, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Loke get to speak to Edras? Will they be able to find a way to get the people of Seibal into Holom? Will Loke give up and just stay home? 
> 
> A HUGE reveal in this chapter.

Magnar and Loke left early for Holom. There were so many people in his house and out buildings, he could only hope that they wouldn’t be spontaneously inspected before he could get everyone out of Caax. The road had plenty of suspicious looking people on it, most of which just eyed them curiously and kept moving. Occasionally, someone would stop them and ask where they were going and who they were. Usually Magnar was able to smooth it over with a brief explanation about how his crops failed, like everyone else’s, but he was escorting Loke back home for some extra cash. It wasn’t a lie at all, but every so often, one of them wouldn’t buy it and they would have to try and fight their way around them. Though, they were farmers, so they weren’t really versed in battle and after Magnar smacked them with his hoe, they usually let them alone. The biggest problem was something neither of them anticipated. When they finally arrived at the border, were Caax soldiers and farmers stationed along the border's edge – not only on the road, but from what they could see, it was a man made border of what they assumed was the entire distance of the Holom-Caax border. Loke explained to the guards on the road who she was and that she hired Magnar and showed her citizen identification before they finally let them into Holom.

Holom wasn’t exactly how Loke left it, but it wasn’t drastically different. People in the few villages where they stopped and stayed in were slightly more impoverished, but from what they learned, were still a fair mix of old and new religions. Magnar was improving his map as they went along and Loke spent a lot of the trip in deep thought. It worried Magnar a little how she didn’t really say all that much, but he thought it was better than arguing. Except when the silence when on for way too long, he thought that the arguments might be a welcome change of pace.

Holom city was fairly bustling and a stark difference from Teo. Magnar was quite surprised at how busy it was and he almost lost Loke in the crowd as she was trying to guide him to her house. 

“This place is insane. Far busier than Teo. How do you even get anywhere?”

“It’s home, I don’t know, how can you tell farms apart?”

“They all look different to me." He realized her point and dropped the argument. "So, this is your house?”

“It isn’t much, but it’s my home.” She led him inside her house. The main room was floor to ceiling with books and even more books and papers strewn about the floor. 

“It could be a lot more welcoming if you didn’t have all these books. It looks like the walls are made from books!”

“Well, they are something like walls. There are a few layers of them.”

“Wait, so these piles go several layers back? How many books do have?”

“Probably about five thousand or so. I haven’t counted, but they do have a set organizational structure so I know where to find things.”

“So, if you needed a book that was behind one of these other books on the bottom, how do you get to it?”

“Carefully.”

Loke didn’t want to explain that usually they toppled down on her and she had to restack things so many times, which is why she knew where everything was so readily. There were some people in the city, usually other priests, that would use her as a private library and borrow books from her from time to time. She did have one book that sat alone on a shelf by the front door that listed the book and the borrower, so she would never lose that particular record.   
She proceeded through her house to a back room that looked like it should be a bedroom. Magnar looked around and this room didn’t look much different than the living room, except that along the one wall between some shorter piles of books was a bed. 

“Since you are the guest in my home, you can use the bed. Tomorrow I’ll speak with Edras and you can roam around the city as much as you’d like. I don't really need any protection in the city. I guess you could say it’s like a day off for both of us.” She started stacking books and papers that were lying on the floor. Compared to Magnar’s house which was surprisingly very orderly, hers was extremely haphazard and looked almost dangerous.

“It’s your house, there’s no reason you shouldn’t have the bed. But a day off does sound a bit refreshing.”

“I’ll be fine elsewhere. I don’t really sleep in it all that often myself, actually. So please, use it.” She often found herself asleep on her desk, which was only mostly covered in piles of papers. 

She showed him the rest of the house, which was a kitchen that should have been free from books, but wasn’t. At least they were limited and away from where any sort of cooking fire would be. There was also a locked door that she forbade him to go into. Of course it only made him want to check it out even more, but for now he was just going to let it go.

By the time Loke got herself up and situated, Magnar had already left the house. She lived on the south part of the city and Edras usually was on the north side. She was roughly familiar with his schedule and she decided she could take her time getting through the city and stop to visit a few of her common haunts. Her visits were two fold – visit just to visit, and see if there was anything going on that might be important. 

She stopped to pick up some fresh bread for breakfast from the local baker and learned that the crop failures in Caax were impacting his business as well. Even though he didn’t raise crops himself, he did say that he started to make offerings to the god of agriculture for improved crops next year. This country depended on them as much as Caax did. 

Her next stop was to the paper mill, as she often needed more pages for notes and she thought it a nice gesture to get a large parchment for Magnar to make a map on as a gesture of thanks. The paper mill had been quite busy, as it seemed that there were large paper orders coming in. She had watched the laborious process one day and for someone to order hundreds of pages made her monthly order of two or three pages seem rather insignificant. According to the owner of the mill, much of the paper had been ordered by Palen in Caax. The rumor around the city was that he was going to offer rewards for anyone that turns in a believer. Things in Caax were already tough for believers and Loke could only think that with a reward, people will be turning in their non-believer neighbors for the reward. Especially since Caax was falling into a dire situation. 

Finally, as she reached the opposite side of the city, it was already late afternoon and the activity around Edras’ mansion indicated that he was likely inside. She was well acquainted with the men at the gate and they gave her a smile as she walked right past them. The guard at the door wasn’t someone she was familiar with, however and he gave her a bit of a rough time. 

“State your business.”

“I wish to speak with Edras.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No. I don’t think it would be necessary.”

“Lord Edras doesn’t just speak with people. How did you get past the guards at the gate?”

Loke sighed. This person that Edras hired clearly was trying to be exemplary at his job. She reached down the collar of her shirt and pulled out a pendant to show the guard. He immediately struck to attention and let Loke pass through.

“May you have a good day, your majesty.”

“To you as well.”

Loke headed into the mansion and up the stairs, straight to Edras’ office. She barely knocked as she opened the door and entered the room. Edras was caught by surprise and nearly fell out of his seat. 

“S-Sacniete! What are you doing here? Didn’t you go off on some quest for history or something?”

“I’m having a short homecoming for a bit of business.”

“Oh, I see. Then welcome back.” Edras still looked a little worried, but his voice evened out and most of his anxiety started to wane.

“I wanted to talk to you about a few things. I assume you are aware of what’s going on in Caax, right? Especially in Teo?”

“Caax’s crop failure is our problem too, you know. We’re doing what we can to support them, but it’s been pretty hard. I don’t know what you mean about Teo though.”  
She knew he wasn’t being honest since just about everyone in the city and countryside had been chatting about it, but she just let him go for the moment. “There’s widespread genocide of believers in the entirety of Caax. Teo is almost horrifying in that they are making a public spectacle of murder. Rumor also has it that they are going to start offering a bounty for believers.”

“Why does any of that concern me?”

“Because, at some point the people who wish to have some money to eat will start turning in their non-believer neighbors. I know you aren’t terribly concerned with our plight, but I figure that could directly affect some of your family and friends.”  
Edras snorted and narrowed his eyes at her. He knew she was right, but hated to admit it. “So, if all this stuff turns out to be true, what did you really come here for?”

“I’m going to be locating an entire village of believers into Holom’s countryside. I expect that they will be treated justly. And if I find out that they aren’t being treated right, or any other believer in this country, I will have to do something about it.”

“Would you? You haven’t done much for this country in the past six years.” 

“Edras, you’ve been entrusted to govern this beautiful country in my stead since my parents passed and I’ve allowed it to continue under certain conditions since my coronation. You do remember those conditions, right?”

“Of course. How could I ever forget them? You won’t let me.”

“Good. And wherever you’ve managed to acquire some of this excess money it looks like you’re wasting around this place, send some to the villages. They’re looking a bit dire these days.”  
Edras fought back an argument about how he really wasn’t living lavishly, in his opinion, but decided that wasn’t the argument to have right now. He hated how he could be removed from his position at any moment, but was thankful she was rather naïve and somewhat benevolent. But that didn’t stop him from personally wanting to side with Palen’s cause. “You know, I think what might help things out with all this old and new religion stuff would be if you could, you know, find some proof. Like, real hard evidence.” He had confidence she wouldn’t be able to find anything.

“You know, Edras, that also goes for those in the new religion. But, in a way, you’re right. And after I relocate Seibal into Holom, I plan on returning to my research trip and if I find anything that might settle this argument, either way, I will be more than happy to share my findings.”

“Great.” Edras smirked, thinking she would easily fail. She wasn’t physically strong and he was quite surprised she came back from Caax alive. It might be best if she didn't return next time. 

“Take care of my country while I’m away.”

“Of course. Long live the queen.”

Edras watched through the window until she left the property. He immediately called one of the guards to summon a particular person to his estate. While he didn’t think Loke would succeed on her own, he wasn’t going to take any chances. She was starting to become a threat to his power. The person he summoned was rather famous in the underground as a ruthless assassin. If the queen didn’t want to let him handle Holom as he had been for nearly twenty years, then he would make sure she never would have a chance to do it herself. 

It was already after dark when Loke got back to her own house. Magnar had cleared some space in the kitchen and was making some sort of meager stew for dinner from the few supplies they were able to get from the market. He also had done the best he could to straighten up the rest of the house and set up an area to work on his map of the city. Loke was completely speechless at how clean her place looked and found Magnar in the kitchen.

“That smells really good. What are you making?”

“Just stew. The items in the marketplace seemed a little slim, so I didn’t want to affect the citizens all that much. Any luck?”

“I think so. I got you something while I was out today. I set it where you have your map set up. I’m going to look something up really quick.”

“Hey, Loke…”

“Hm?”

“I want to talk about something while we eat. It’s kinda important.”

“Sure. We should discuss Seibal’s relocation also.”

Loke disappeared into her bedroom and Magnar stared at the soup. While he didn’t find a lot of items to buy in the market, he learned a lot about Holom and possibly about his employer. It was information he wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he also wasn’t completely sure about how true the information was. If everything was true, he would need to think about his future with her much more carefully.   
Once the food was cooked, Magnar poured a few bowls and set them on the table before setting through the house to find Loke. He found her on the floor with a new spread of books and falling asleep against the bed. He laughed to himself and thought all those things he heard couldn’t have been about her and gently shook her awake. “Hey, want something to eat?”

Loke rubbed her eyes and startled herself awake. She didn’t realize she fell asleep and was quick to drop the books and follow him back to the kitchen. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that. I guess speaking with Edras took a lot out of me.”

“Yeah. I wanted to talk about that, actually. Edras is in charge here, right? How come you were so easily able to see him? Doesn’t it take serious clout to get an audience with a monarch? Is your priestess status enough?”

Loke shoved some potatoes in her mouth but answered Magnar anyway. “Edras isn’t a monarch. He’s been entrusted to run the country by proxy. He is a lord, but he’s been keeping tabs on things for a long time now.”

“Ok, so he isn’t a king. But that still doesn’t explain how you got in there.”

Loke set her spoon down and looked into her bowl. “I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want to tell anyone. You probably don’t know the history of Holom like you know about the countryside of Caax.”

“No, but I think I learned some things today. Besides the majority of people that had nothing but ridiculously kind words about her, I heard from some that the queen avoided all her responsibilities and abandoned her country and her people. I also heard that the while Edras is of the new religion, the queen is in knee deep in the old religion. Some of the believers never questioned things, but with how things are now, they’re starting to wonder if they should still believe. Loke, what’s going on?”

“I was very young when my parents passed. I was brought up in the old religion by those we witnessed in Teo's square. Because of them, I was ultimately able to become a high priestess at sixteen. While I was learning from them, the advisors that aided my parents so well ruled in my stead since I was too young to command an entire country. Once I became of age and was brought into the court, I discussed a lot of things with Edras and the other advisors. They had been keeping the country in such good care for when I could have the throne that I decided that they could be entrusted to continue their service for a while, but with several conditions. Aside from that, everything I said about about this adventure has been true.”

“So, you are the queen that abandoned her people.”

That was what he was hung up on? “I never abandoned them! I’m doing all of this to help protect them! As long as Edras follows our conditions, Holom will be safe. When all the genocide ends, then I can feel comfortable enough to rule on my own. I don't feel strong enough to do anything right as the queen, but as a priestess, I'm better equipped to handle a religious dispute.” 

A few teardrops fell into her soup and Magnar knew he shouldn’t have crossed the line but he still wasn’t certain about some things so he kept pushing her. “So, what were these conditions? Why would you hire someone like me and not take some of your royal guards or something? They're obviously better equipped for conflict.”

“The conditions were largely centered on being fair to both religions, not to let people fall into poverty, things of that nature. I wanted to prevent the god of misfortune from taking advantage of our country. But I really don’t consider myself to be a queen. Yes, it might be a title that I’ve been given, but to travel as such when the diplomatic things are largely left to Edras would be even more insulting to my people. Not to mention, I would be an easy target. Also, given the climate in the other countries, were it widely known that a high priestess was also the queen of Holom, it would make us a large target for other nations, such as Caax and Yopa. Having Edras, a non-believer, keeping things going, it lessens the political burden to an extent.”

Magnar sat quiet for a few moments contemplating Loke’s explanation. He didn't realize she was cognizant of as many issues as she was, and he would have never expected her to actually have such a position. He thought her being a high priestess was pretty impressive, but a high priestess and a queen was something he didn't know how to react to. She certainly didn't behave in any manner that he expected a queen to behave.  
Loke noticed Magnar was unusually quiet and quickly scrambled to fill the silence. "Please don't tell the others. It isn't exactly something I want widely known. Most of the people in this city don't even know that I'm Her Majesty Sacniete. They either know me as Loke the priestess or the strange girl with all the books. I want to keep it that way for a while."

"Alright. But it isn't something that I can't easily forget I heard, you know. Like, am I supposed to treat you with reverence or something? And what's Sacniete?”

“My official coronation name. We don't use our birth names in public for the royal families, for safety. Just think about it like today is a huge joke. I’m not the royal type, right? So please, don’t think of me as such. I’m the same Loke you’ve known the entire time.”

“You sure aren’t the royal type. I can agree with that statement.” He saw she was still pretty upset and he groaned and rubbed the back of his head. “That look doesn’t suit you and you’re ruining the stew. I’ll forget we had this conversation. Let’s talk about something else.”

Loke wiped her eyes and nodded gently with a relieved sigh. “We just need to get the villagers here. They’ll be allowed to relocate and form their own village.”

“That’s fantastic news. The challenge is going to be getting them over the border. There weren’t really any gaps to exploit and moving so many people would be almost impossible.”

“And to engage a few of them would quickly turn sour since there are so many that could arrive quickly to serve as back up. The villagers aren’t really able to fight.”

“We should probably head back sooner than later. I’m worried about the surprise inspections. My home has been targeted a lot more than my neighbors in the past. Palen seems to have a personal vendetta against me, so we should get them out quickly.”

“I also seem to have added an extra burden on my end as well. Once we get everyone into Holom, I need to be extra attentive for anything that could be demonstrative proof of the gods.”

“How the hell did that happen?”

“Edras posed a challenge. Solve most of the conflicts by demonstrating concrete proof. If I can end everything by proving their existence, then it isn’t a bad way to go.”

“You’re being naïve. They would twist it and deny it anyway. Don’t waste your energy on that. But if we find something, then we find something. Just don’t change your core mission. I’m sure there are plenty of believers out there that might have good ideas. We found Seibal, right? It’s an entire village of people that will certainly give you ideas if they’re inspired by the gods.”

“As long as it isn’t the god of war.”

“As long as it isn’t the god of war,” Magnar repeated in concurrence.

Magnar insisted Loke have her own bed for the night. She was emotionally exhausted and he had some map making to work on. The parchment she had brought him was some of the best he’d ever seen and he was a little apprehensive about writing on it. Instead, he decided he would save it for his grand map of Itzam. If he was still going to be traveling around, he could put all his other maps together and make one map he could be really proud of. He had sketched out the streets in the southern part of town and while he wanted to venture to the rest of the city, they had more important business to take care of and he could always come back and map it another time. He didn’t get as much work as he intended to that night because their dinner conversation kept seeping into his mind. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask her in sincerity, but he saw how much she wanted to keep that title from influencing anything. She lived in a rather small place in the middle of a lower class neighborhood, too. It was something she obviously was trying very hard to ignore. He was starting to see the importance of her quest and his job just became even more vital to her success. 

Loke had a hard time staying asleep. Speaking with Edras was a last resort for her and even still, she didn’t want to reveal anything to any of her travel companions, particularly Magnar. It wasn’t that she was worried he wouldn’t respect her desire to keep the secret safe, but she was concerned even more about his treatment of her. She worried he would now be extremely over protective, as several other hired bodyguards had been in the past when she would travel to and from Caax. She was right to have kept it quiet when she hired him, and tomorrow might be a completely different journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of my favorite moments between Loke and Magnar that really showed how much trust she has in him. <3


	7. Relocating Seibal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loke and Magnar head back to Caax to escort the village over the border. Will it go as smoothly as they hope? Why is Palen such a hardass?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We meet Betti in this chapter. Betti follows the okama troupe and isn't intended to belittle or insult any particular group of people. Betti is just Betti. I wish I was as fashionable as Betti.

Magnar’s house was crawling with villagers. Most of them had set up as much of a comfortable bunking situation that they could in the outbuildings with hanging hammocks and make shift beds of hay. They had a rotating staff of look outs and even prepared for a surprise inspection, which, as Magnar predicted, happened twice already. Dias and Cyrene came up with the plan and it seemed to have gone over smoothly for both inspections. Claiming this was an abandoned house with outbuildings that were most useful, Dias, a traveling war physician with no affiliation, was utilizing the space as a temporary hospital to other travelers along the road. Everyone had fashioned some sort of bandages or compresses to fool the inspectors as they came through. Blu and Cyrene acted as his nurses and Dias even helped one of the soldiers with a small injury, which just further solidified his story. Blu had learned from some of the younger people in the village proper ways of making offerings, even when the offerings were only words. Before bed he would make offerings for protection for everyone and for a safe journey for Loke and Magnar. 

Just as a third inspection was making its way to Magnar’s farm, Loke and Magnar, having just arrived, were speaking with Cyrene, Onslow, Dias, and Blu on the front porch. It almost seemed like a glorious procession with a number of horses. The horse in the front was especially ornate and as it reached the porch, Magnar let out a string of curses under his breath. 

“Well, I heard this was an abandoned home being used as a medical facility. But it looks like you were home after all, Magnar Lunde.”

“Palen, it's been a while. I actually just returned home and was talking with the doctor about all the work he had been doing. It wasn’t like I was growing anything useful this year, so as long as nothing is missing, it isn’t a problem.”

“Just returned home? That sounds convenient. I suppose it’s that kindness that the old religion seems to toot their horns about.”

“It doesn’t matter which religion. Both, as I understand, are built upon kindness to others. Maybe you should review your teachings.”

Palen’s expression only showed more dissatisfaction. “I can be kind. I won’t have you beheaded on the spot today. Is that kind?”

“I think not beheading anyone is even kinder.”

While the men argued, Loke slipped into the house for a few moments and made sure everyone had scrambled to their staged locations. She then went to her pack and rummaged through it to find some of her stationary and went to Magnar’s drafting desk to write some sort of document. She had to continuously be cautious of how she conducted herself. Situations like this would be so easy to reveal her status, but she needed a subtle way to display her authority. Finishing her letter, she melted some of a candle and pressed her pendant into it to sign the letter. Cleaning up behind her, she folded the letter and went back outside to where Magnar and Palen were still arguing, but now about something that sounded like a childhood event.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m quite amazed that the ruler of Caax is so young! I always thought it was some grumpy old man.”

“I’m glad that you are amazed, but how did you come to that conclusion?”

“It wasn’t anything specific, but it was better than the rumor you were a giant ogre.”

“A giant ogre… lady, who are you?”

“It’s true that Magnar had no idea his home was being used this way. We just returned from Holom with an ordinance from the queen herself. She has given asylum to anyone coming from Caax for any reason to relocate. I was told about this rumored hospital and wanted to offer them this option. Everyone here is supposedly a wanderer of some sort and the queen wanted to reach out to them.”

“The queen? The queen of Holom that almost no one has even seen since her coronation a lot of years ago? Edras is essentially the king. It’s only a matter of time until he overthrows the throne. Though, I heard even he doesn’t know where she is.”

“Rumors are a funny thing, Mr. Ogre, as they're false as much as they are true. But she entrusted us to travel with her wishes and if you wish to see it, I have it here.”

Palen trotted closer to Loke and snatched the letter from her hand. Looking it over, he frowned even more and threw it back at her. “Do what you want. But I wonder if anyone could pass that border to reach asylum. My guards have been instructed to only let people pass with valid Holom identification.” Palen turned and rode off, gesturing for his soldiers to follow. 

Once he was out of sight, there was an overwhelming collective sigh of relief. Dias picked up the letter from the ground and looked at it. “This is from the queen. How could you even get something like this? No one has even claimed to have seen her in years.”

“Being high priestess has some perks.” Loke took the letter back quickly and started towards the house. She didn’t want to look at anyone at the moment and decided letting everyone inside know things were safe was a better option.

“Magnar, what happened in Holom?” Dias thought he could get more information from Magnar.

Magnar shrugged. “I don’t know how she got it. She said she was going to meet with Edras and gave me the day off. Her house is full of books that I can’t even read. I’m almost afraid to know what’s in her head. But I figured it was her high priestess rank getting her in with those high level people. Holom City was quite an experience though. It was labyrinthine, but the people got along regardless of what god or gods they worshiped.” 

Dias had his suspicions, especially about everyone living so harmoniously in this sort of tense climate. There was no way Holom was completely immune from it. He let it go for now then also went back towards the house. “We should get everyone together quickly. I suspect he’s going to strengthen the border soon.”

“Yeah, without a doubt.”

Blu had been curious about the events from earlier in the day. While he was on watch, he secretly looked at the letter Loke provided to Palen. Something about the script and the words looked remarkably familiar to him. He knew he had seen that writing before, but the design on the seal was what struck him the most. The design was intricate and quite beautiful. It was a bit inspiring and he knew he wanted to learn more about it. He was learning so much in the past few days with everyone already, he worried his mind might get full at some point. He was spending a lot of time looking at the marbles that Loke would inscribe for him and while she was away, he had tried to make some for himself. He was quite proficient at the base design, but had found a way to stagger one inscription with another of the same design to forge a design that looked quite different to a non-discerning eye. He took the risk and tried one in his weapon and a huge bolt of lighting arced from the barrel and burnt a nearby tree to a crisp. It was remarkably powerful, but he had faith he didn’t have to rely on Loke for his pellets and he even managed to make it a bit stronger. 

There was a noise on the roof of the main house that broke Blu out of his contemplation. He quickly shoved the letter back where he found it and carefully went to wake up Magnar. As soon as Blu shook Magnar, he heard the sound of something dragging on the roof and was completely awake. He motioned for Blu to go wake up Dias and to head around the back. He made sure everyone was still asleep and made his way to the front door. He heard a thud on his porch as he was about to open the door and there was a pounding on the door. 

A loud, male voice with a slightly effeminate usage to his words called out loud enough to wake most of the main house. “Hello! I’m sorry for calling on you all so late, but I’m looking for a young lady with light green hair and a strapping young man with blue hair! If anyone knows where they are, could you be so kind to lead me to them!”

Dias and Blu came running from the back door to the front and Loke, half asleep walked up to join them. 

“Hello? Is anyone in here? I heard this place with full of life! Or was it full of death? Hello?” The pounding on the door continued.

“Magnar, make them go away. We have to leave tomorrow and I’m sure everyone wants to sleep.” Loke started back to the center of the house.

“They’re asking for us, stupid.” Magnar yelled as best as he could in a whisper.

Dias pushed past Magnar and opened the door. “May I help you? I have a lot of patients that require a good night’s sleep and you are disturbing their healing process.”

“Oh my, what a rugged doctor. Have you seen these two?” The man had long, luxurious blonde curls and ice blue eyes and extraordinary long lashes. He carried a bag that looked rather heavy as well, which probably explained the dragging noises. He held up a poster of a poorly drawn caricature of Loke and Magnar.

“I can’t say that I have. But if I do, whom should I contact?” Dias wanted this character to leave them all alone, but he sensed this was one of those persistent types. 

“You don’t have to worry about that, handsome. I’ll find them. And when I do, I will DESTROY them.” The last part of his sentence was about two octaves lower and with a rather angry tone in stark contrast to the light hearted tone. “Have a pleasant evening!” 

The man slung his bag over his shoulder and wandered off into the moonless night. Dias closed the door and sighed. “I don’t know what you two got into in Holom, but if I remember correctly, that was Betoros. Sometimes he goes by Betti, but he’s a force you do not want to face. He’s notorious for wiping out specific targets in a rather brutal manner. A lot of believers fell to him in the war in Nich and I’ve heard he’s gone freelance.”

Magnar looked deep into the house and saw Loke asleep once again with the women. “It could have been Palen, too. He’s had it out for me since we were kids and since Loke had called him an ogre, and thrust that document in his face, he probably didn’t take that very well.”

“If it was Palen, or someone in Holom, we now have to be extra careful. We should head out as early as possible and get them all into Holom. After they cross the border, I suggest we separate from them, for their safety.”

“Not a bad idea, but you could stay with them. You don’t need to follow us.”

“Something about this entire situation intrigues me. I want to stick around for a while. I assume Blu will be tagging along as well?”

Blu had been quietly listening and watching out the window. “Of course. I still want Dias to teach me everything about healing people and I really like Loke’s lessons. I will become useful to everyone besides cooking.”

While everyone was getting together to leave, Dias caught Loke up on the events from the night before. She looked extremely worried, but then put a smile on her face and went back to helping everyone get their things together. Magnar was on the roof trying to survey the area. He could see the line of soldiers seemed a little thicker than normal, but there was a small region to the north that looked a little thinner on soldiers. He determined that would be the safest route and broke everyone into four groups. He would take the first group, then Loke, then Blu, then Dias with the final group. Loke gave Magnar the letter so that he could attempt to use it if he got into trouble. Onslow had performed a small ritual of offering to the god of protection and joined Magnar in the first group. 

As they neared the border where soldiers were thinner, Magnar kept staring at the one soldier rather curiously. They looked really familiar, but he had no idea why. He met a lot of people and didn’t always remember why. He decided that might be worth a chance and led the group straight to that soldier.

“Oh! I can’t remember your name, but you were one of Blu’s friends, right?” The girl soldier seemed quite optimistic and chipper and Magnar immediately remembered her from Teo.

“I can’t say that I remember yours either, but I do remember your face. How have things been?”

“Teo isn’t very good, but I volunteered for this job because it pays pretty good and the countryside has some great, fresh air! Between you and me, I don’t care who comes in or out.”

Magnar smiled. “It looks very fortunate that we ran into you today. My other companions will be coming through shortly. You may remember Loke, she’ll be next.”

“Of course! The girl! She seemed a bit unusual, though.”

“Unusual is a good word to describe her. But after she passes through, Blu should be coming up, with another friend of ours after that.”

“That looks like a lot of people though. You are all getting out of Caax because of what’s going on, right?”

“Generally speaking, yes.”

“Can’t say I blame you! May God smile upon you! Good luck in Holom!”

“Thanks again!” He couldn’t remember Winter’s name, but at least she didn’t seem to be the type to turn them in. Besides, he was now in Holom with a letter from the queen.   
Loke had a similar exchange with Winter when she reached the border. However, Winter understood that there was a little bit of urgency to their movement and she knew the shift changes of the soldiers, so she kept the conversation extremely short.   
When Blu reached Winter, they had an excitable reunion with some hugs and plenty of cheer. Winter and Blu ushered everyone across the border while they chatted about their adventure thus far, or at least as much as Blu could describe in a few moments. He did give a highly favorable description of Dias so that when his group passed by, it would be easier for her to recognize him and to let him pass through. They parted with another hug and Blu ran to join the front of the group and lead them to the meeting point. 

Dias hadn't met Winter before, but she knew exactly who he was when he came close. "I hear you're a pretty famous doctor. A friend of mine has said a lot of great things about you."

"I'm afraid I'm not sure who you may be, but how do I know your friend?"

"Ah, I'm friends with Blu and I met Loke and the other guy in Teo a bit ago. They all met because of me. But you should all go through quickly. The guy replacing me should be coming soon and I don't want to get you guys caught. I'll be in pretty hot water too, but hopefully we can talk again soon!"

"Then, Miss Winter, I thank you for your aid. Stay safe and be cautious here."  
Winter waved as they crossed the border. She suspected she would probably lose her job here anyway and decided to vacate her post a little early, before the next guy arrived. She gave a false name when she signed up anyway, so she wasn't too worried about repercussions. 

In Holom, a village that was barely hanging on was their meeting point. Once everyone had joined together, Loke explained her arrangement for the village. She explained that they were able to recreate their village as they see fit and would be perfectly safe practicing their rituals and ceremonies. They were free to choose anywhere in Holom to establish their village, or to try to revitalize a village that was declining. This village was usually high in trade with Caax, given its proximity to the border, but with Caax not doing well, this town wasn't doing well either.

The group was a little torn about where to head next. Almost anywhere they could go outside of Holom required going through Caax. Realizing this struck Loke as an epiphany as to why there weren’t more people migrating into Holom and after having briefly met Palen, realized that her own country might be politically threatened from Caax and from the inside. She was starting to feel a larger sense of urgency. 

It was Blu that surprisingly came up with different idea. “I know that it might not be the best place to go, since it’s a desert, but maybe there are still some believers in the deserts of Wiil?”

Wiil was a nation that was nearly entirely deserts. There were scattered oases and it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that one of them could hold believers. But no one had a lot of information about it and it was even more curious of how to actually get there. 

“Couldn’t there be a port to the south of Holom? I know we don’t have one in the south west area of Caax, but Holom City is the northwest corner of the country. Maybe there’s something in the south?” Holom surely wasn't that good of a country if it couldn't extend past its borders that didn't connect to Caax, at least that was what Magnar thought.

Loke thought for a moment. Magnar might be right, especially since he was generally pretty good with directions. She was largely familiar with Holom, but that didn’t mean that there couldn’t be some smaller fishing ports that could help in the southern part of the country. “It might be worth a chance to try. We can head towards the city following the southern coast and hopefully we can find something.”

“That seems settled. Would it be worth continuing on today or taking off in the morning?” Dias was mostly watching the villagers roam around and talking to the inhabitants of the village. It looked like they were all getting rather comfortable in this area and wasn’t too worried about them having to struggle to survive this time.

“We can probably head out. There are a lot of places along the main road, and the coastal area has a lot of open areas, as well as some moderately covered areas. The beaches are really beautiful, although I haven’t seen them since I was a child.” Loke did spend a bit of her childhood on the beaches. Though, from what she remembered, it was mostly from the inside of the estate and her window seat and not really on the sand. She always hated how sand would manage to find its way into her books.


	8. An unusual Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loke reunites with someone from her childhood. Will this reveal her secrets to everyone? Will this reunion be joyous or dreadful? Will they ever get to Wiil?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we meet Ezra. If you want a model for him, think about Gaston from beauty and the beast, but less of a jerk.

Loke had been quite right about the beauty of the coastline. Comparing it to the city, it was a stark difference in view and lifestyle. As the coast was starting to turn north, a small fishing village was seen up in the distance. It was nearly dusk, but the prospect of a port excited everyone to keep pushing forward. They all hoped that Blu’s suggestion to try for Wiil would pan out.

By the time they reached the small village, it was dark and most activity in the village had ceased. The village was no stranger to visitors since it was along the coast and sometimes the city people would come out to fish or just relax on the beaches. Because of this, by the time they found the inn, it had mostly been filled and the only room remaining was a tiny room with one bed. Even if they shared the room, there wouldn't be enough room for everyone. 

There was an old man sitting at the bar that was watching the group and overheard their request for a room. He seemed fairly intoxicated, but he recognized one of the party members in an instant, but she looked like she wasn't there on any official business, so he decided to be act as a stranger for now.

"I hear you kids are looking for a place to stay." He spoke with intermittent hiccups. "It just so happens that I have a little space in my small shanty down the street, if you wouldn't mind some drafty quarters."

Everyone turned when the old man addressed them and Loke's eyes grew wide. She was nervous but still excited. She recognized him immediately, even if it had been almost twenty years since she had seen him. He definitely looked older, but he had the same voice and she had no doubt it was him.

Magnar thought his proposal wasn't a bad idea and Holom seemed relatively safe compared to Caax and sleeping indoors anywhere sounded better than camping another night. "That sounds like a better option. We're pretty used to drafts already. What do you say?" Magnar turned to look at Loke and noticed she seemed a bit out of it. He snapped in her face to bring her back to reality. "Hey, Loke! What do you think?"

She shook her head to bring her back to the moment. "I think it's a fantastic idea. Let's do that." 

Dias was quick to realize she probably knew something about this old man but kept it to himself for now. Even though he was already keeping an eye on her, he was going to watch her extra carefully tonight. Blu mostly only noticed that Dias and Magnar were looking really serious and he was a bit confused about what he was missing, since Loke's expression was still mostly blank.

"Haha, you kids are interesting. Let me pay my tab and I'll take you to my place!"

They followed the old man down the street to a small house that did look a bit run down, but wasn't terrible. It didn't look much like a shanty either. In fact, it was a fairly decent two-story dwelling.

"Well, it isn't much, but it's my home. There are three rooms upstairs, please make good use of them. And you are all probably really hungry, so I'll whip something up for you, too!"

Upstairs, there were three bedrooms that looked like they were vacant for a long time. One looked like it belonged to a female, with dried flowers hanging from the walls and an empty vase on the night stand. Another seemed quite nautical in its decorations, while the third was mostly non-descript and not really decorated at all. This was likely a spare bedroom. Magnar told Loke to use the girl's room and that left the other two rooms for the remaining three men. They decided that Magnar could have the sailor's room and Blu could have the other room. Dias said he would be on his own tonight, having some things he wanted to look into, so he wouldn't be a burden on everyone after dinner. Everyone protested, but he made wasn't about to be swayed. After everyone else got settled, the old man called from downstairs that dinner was ready. 

The old man prepared a simple fish course with a few sides, but it was prepared well and had a flavor that no one expected. 

"Now then, welcome to my home. My name is Taranis. Earlier today, I caught that fish you're all enjoying."  
Magnar was amazed at how well he was able to prepare everything, even being still obviously intoxicated. He wondered if it would be any better if he were sober. "It's really fantastic, Taranis."

Loke's suspicions were confirmed and she figured she needed to address some things before she blurted something out that would reveal the one secret she wanted to keep. "I have to agree with Magnar, it is really good. And I'll take the opportunity to introduce everyone. I'm Loke, from the city. Magnar is from the farmlands in Caax, just to the east. Blu is from Teo, the capital city of Caax. Dias is a doctor from Nich." Though, where in Nich he originated from, she really hadn't known. Dias wasn't usually free flowing with information. 

"Well, it seems we have a lot of people from very far away. What brings you to our little town? It's nearing the end of the season for the beaches, but maybe you're here for the fish?"

"We're actually looking for a way to get to Wiil." Magnar never wanted to offer up more information than was necessary.

"Wiil is a bit tricky and they prefer to stay isolated. Usually, the only way to get there is from Tohil, and even then you have to go all the way across Caax to get to the main port."

"So it's impossible..." Blu frowned and looked dejected.

"Not so fast, young man. You see, sometimes we get some fishermen that like to take push the limits and fish pretty far away from here. From time to time they end up in Wiil and vice versa."

Blu was starting to look hopeful again. 

Dias wasn't completely convinced and had been watching Loke most of the time. She was definitely hiding something important, but he stayed engaged in the conversation. "Do you know if there are any of those fishermen in this town? As much as we appreciate your hospitality, we wouldn't want to intrude for very long."

"You kids aren't a bother. It's rather nice to have young people in the house again. My kids are grown and on their own and my wife passed a few years ago. But if my boy is in town, then I'm sure he'll be delighted to take you across the straight."

"Really? That would be pretty fantastic." Magnar looked at Loke, expecting her to be excited but saw her sitting rather uncomfortably and mostly trying to keep food in her mouth to not have to engage in the conversation. "Hey," he whispered as he nudged her. "What's going on?"

Loke shook her head and mumbled with her mouth full. "Nothing."

Magnar didn't buy it, but since they were in someone's house, he decided it was best to let it go right now. But she was being weird and it was a little rude in his opinion.

"Don't worry about it. I'll see if Ezra is at the port in the morning and can help you guys out. And if it's ok, I would like to talk to your female companion after dinner."

Magnar looked over at Loke, who simply nodded that it would be alright. "Seems she is fine with it." He shrugged and went back to his meal. 

Dinner mostly consisted of small talk about the village and its daily activities. There was a lot of fishing and some tourists took small day trips on some of the boats in the area. Beaches were usually more popular when it was warmer, but since the weather was starting to get cool, there weren't as many here for the beaches. 

Once dinner was over, Dias excused himself and went into town, as he had declared he would do earlier. Blu and Magnar went upstairs while Loke remained behind to talk to Taranis. Magnar was fairly suspicious, so after a short while, he slipped back into the stairway to try and listen in on their conversation.

"Loke, why are you here? You haven't been here in nearly twenty years. You are the same age as Marisol, aren't you?"

"I think so. And Ezra was two years older." Ezra was a name Loke almost wished she hadn't heard again, let alone needed to utter. "Where are they now?"

"Ah ah, you know better. Answer my question first."

"Like Magnar said earlier, we want to go to Wiil."

"And a queen doesn't just up and go to a desert nation on a whim." He got up and went to the kitchen and brought out a bottle of wine and two glasses. "This is Marisol's favorite wine."  


Loke didn't really like to drink, but wasn't going to refuse him. "I'm going to find more believers. I'm learning that there aren't many safe places for them anymore and at some point, Holom itself might be in danger. We rely a lot on Caax for imports and exports since we have no strong shipping routes of our own. Although, Wiil doesn't really have the same religious scheme, from what I understand."  


"Well, I can't speak to other nations, but we were lucky to survive the epidemic of civil wars. Your friends are from Caax and Nich, right? Both of them had it rough. I heard the royal family in Tohil converted to keep from falling out of power but are trying to be fair to both religions. I haven't heard much out of the other countries, though."  


"Nothing from Wiil, even? And Yopa is probably going to be like Caax very soon. Their towns are mostly full of soldiers training for war. They burned down an entire village while we were there. I brought them back to Holom for relocation. They were all originally from Nich."

"I see. It seems that things are getting a bit complicated out there. I do have to admit, this little village doesn't usually see much outside of aristocracy from the city. And we all know how oblivious some of them can be."

"I couldn't agree more. But I'm sorry to hear about Sterre. What happened?"

"She caught one of those sicknesses that tend to go around. She would have liked to have seen you all grown up. We did come to the city for your coronation, you know. But we were so far away, you were such a tiny speck!"

"You should have informed me, I would have loved to have seen you then! I fear that I haven't been a very good queen. Everyone must be so disappointed in me."

"Don't you doubt yourself. I know that Edras is following your instructions, and the majority of people still hold you in a good light. I think most of them just wish you were visible from time to time. There are rumors, you know."

"No, what rumors?"

"That you're not really alive. Or there is one that you're pretending to be Edras. That one is my favorite. But there are also rumors that Edras wants to usurp you."

"That last one I don't doubt a single bit. He wasn't too pleased when I stopped by recently. So, where are Ezra and Marisol? I answered your questions, my turn."

"Ezra runs a tour boat, but I'm pretty sure he would take you guys to Wiil. He still talks about you all the time."

If Taranis mentioned it was for her, she suspected Ezra would do it in a heartbeat. Even as recent as last year she would get a letter from him professing his undying love for her, although he didn't say much else. Usually she just tossed the letters in the fire and went about her day. She had no desire for romance in her life and especially nothing so forward as Ezra.

"As for Marisol, she got married and lives in one of the villages a little to the east of here. Hopefully soon she can bring me some little grandbabies to play with. I'm not getting any younger."

By the time Magnar crept down to eavesdrop, he only heard a lot of laughter and conversations about topics that he didn't quite understand. To him, it sounded a lot like a reunion between old friends, but what was amusing him the most, was Loke's incredibly slurred speech. He could tell she was pretty intoxicated. Not only her speech, but he hadn't heard her speak with such an excitable tone outside of religious things, it was almost scary. He heard Taranis coming closer and he ran back up to his room. A few moments later, there was a knock on his door and Taranis was the one knocking.

"I hate to bother you, kid, but the nice lady is incapable of holding her wine. I don't have that kind of strength any more, but could you be kind enough to help her up to her room?"

Magnar sighed and followed him back downstairs. Loke's arms were flat on the table beside her drooling face. A half finished glass of wine sat beside her. She looked pretty helpless. "I'll take this as a learning experience. No getting Loke drunk."

"I never expected her to react to such a small amount. She probably just needs a good sleep. She told me all about your trip. Take good care of her. She might be the last hope for a lot of us believers."

He didn't think she was all that important for believers, but she was important to her country no matter how much he failed to forget her secret. Somehow, he managed to get her on his shoulders. "She's persistent, if nothing else. But before I take her upstairs, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Though, if it isn't something she wouldn't want me talking about, I'm afraid I would need to keep my lips tight on that."

"How do you know each other? I could tell she was being weird earlier and all I could figure was that she somehow knew you but didn't want to tell us."

"I used to work at her parents' manor down the coast a ways as a bit of a teacher for her. I helped her learn the basics in regards to reading. She learned a lot faster than my daughter that took lessons with her. After they died, all of us were let go to make a new life for ourselves. I think the place is still empty. But she lives too much in her head, so make sure she experiences life a bit while you travel."

That explained a lot about earlier, but why Loke wanted to keep it silent was what confused him. She could have explained it and still kept quiet about her true status, unless she thought Dias would somehow figure it out. He didn't really know much about Dias or what he knew outside the war in Nich. "I'll do my best. Thanks Taranis."

Magnar groaned as he carried Loke upstairs. Her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and she mumbled incoherent words directly into his ear. He rolled his eyes and pushed his way into the room with the dried flowers. He tried to set her down on the bed, but her drunken arms reached out for him like a small child would reach out to their parents. She was still being incoherent, which he started to suspect was that ancient language she used during rituals. Not really wanting to hear her whining, he sat on the bed and she snuggled up on his lap, still mumbling. He leaned himself against the headboard, just waiting for her to settle into sleep before he would leave her and go to his own bed. 

He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he woke up to a loud and painful slap across his face and Loke looking horrified. Trying to wake up his mind, he realized where he was and understood her panic, even if it wasn't really justified to slap him. 

"Why are you in my bed? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Magnar rubbed his face and stood up. "You were drunk and acting like a kid, so I stayed with you until you fell asleep."

"And that included while I slept?"

"I must have fallen asleep before you. I didn't do anything to you. Relax."

Loke's face was bright read as she pointed to the door. Magnar took the hint and left, not really wanting to stay in there any longer, either. Blu heard all the commotion and was standing in the hallway. He watched Magnar slam Loke's door, then slam his own all while holding his cheek, which looked pretty red. He didn't think Magnar would open up to him too much, so he went to try and talk to Loke. Carefully, he knocked on her door, half expecting her to be angry at him too.

"If you're that indecent farm boy, I don't want anything to do with you right now."

"Loke, it's me, Blu."

Loke's voice sounded calmer once Blu announced himself. "You can come in. As long as that jerk isn't with you."

Blu opened the door and cautiously entered the room, closing the door behind him. "What happened?"

"I woke up this morning and that vile thing was in my bed!" Loke was still flush and was shaking a little. 

Blu couldn't tell exactly what emotions she was feeling, but he had to calm her down if they were going to be able to travel together. "Did he say why he was there? I don't think he would have done anything to hurt you."

"He... he claimed I was drunk and he fell asleep while waiting for me to sleep. But why in the bed? There is a perfectly good chair right over there. He could have just sat there instead."

Blu didn't have an answer. He had a better idea of what happened, though it was probably some case of misunderstanding and given their typical interactions, that might be the most likely answer. "Um, is there anything you want me to do for you?"

"Make sure he stays away from me today. And maybe tomorrow. If I didn't need him to come along, I'd just leave him here."

How was he supposed to do that? Blu had no idea, but he could at least let Magnar know she was still a little upset. He nodded and left her room and crossed the hall to Magnar's room.

Magnar opened the door as if he was interrupted while changing. He saw it was Blu at the door and put the shirt over his head. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to let you know that it might be better to leave Loke to herself today. She seems upset still."

"Yeah, fine. I don't have a problem with that. I figured by now she would know that I have no interest in her whatsoever and wouldn't do anything to anyone in their sleep."

Blu stood at the door awkwardly, not really sure how to react. "Ok, um, I'm going to go downstairs and see if Dias came back." He closed the door and walked quickly downstairs. 

Downstairs was quiet. Taranis wasn't anywhere to be seen and it didn't look like Dias was around either. Blu felt a little bad about it, but he took the liberty of using the kitchen and started to prepare breakfast. It wasn't too long after that Dias returned to the house with a loaf of bread.

"I got this for everyone for breakfast today. Blu, why is it so quiet in here?" Dias looked around and noticed that he didn't hear Loke or Magnar and even Blu was even more solemn than usual.

Blu didn't look up from the stove. "Magnar slept in Loke's bed for some reason and was there when she woke up. She slapped him really hard, but I don't know what's going to happen between them."

"I see." Dias didn't want to guess why he was in her room, but he surmised he got drunk and lost his way and ended up with her instead of his own room. He seemed like the type, although he hadn't actually seen either of them indulge, even in the inns and taverns. "Where's Taranis?"

"I haven't seen him this morning."

"Then, maybe he is speaking to his son. I learned a little about Taranis last night, would you care to hear?"

Blu immediately took this opportunity. Dias rarely wanted to discuss anything with him and for him to make the offer, it was a chance he wouldn't let slip by. "Sure, let me just turn this down."

"So, Ezra, his son, doesn't live at home, obviously. He left after his mother died. He's also a pretty popular guy in town. There are a lot of women constantly trying to win his favor, but he only wishes for one particular woman. Do you know who that woman is?"

Blu shook his head, but he was wondering where this story would lead.

"Well, there are a few descriptions floating around, but most of them seem to describe our own Loke pretty well. Though, a few of the people have said that he hasn't even seen this girl since he was a kid."

"But wouldn't she have told us if she knew someone here?"

"That's what I thought, so I asked around a bit more. It turns out that Taranis used to teach the princess of Holom with his own children when she was a child. I'm not well versed in the political structure of Holom, but I learned that the queen's coronation was a big deal and that she has made herself rather scarce for a long time before and immediately after the ceremony. It's only a theory, but what if that princess is the girl Ezra is desperately in love with and is actually the missing queen."

"...And if that missing queen matches the descriptions, Loke could be the queen?"

"Exactly."

Blu chuckled. "I don't think that's true. She's smart, but she's a high priestess. A princess couldn't have gone to do that, right?"

"That's what I thought at first too, but it feels like things make sense when I think about how all the pieces go together."

"What makes more sense?" Loke came down the stairs and noticed Blu and Dias talking at the table.

"Not much. But I heard there was a popular guy in town that keeps turning down propositions because he's obsessed with someone he knew as a girl. It makes sense that he would turn down everyone else if he's waiting for her." Dias smirked at Loke.

Loke was already in a bad mood and her grimace just deepened. "Sometimes what you wait for never comes and the alternate options are almost always the better ones." Loke was already dreading having to travel with Ezra. She wondered if she could put her cloak on and avoid looking at him the entire time.

The front door opened and Taranis came in. "I see some of you are up! Dias, welcome back. We're just missing the farmer fellow, right?" Taranis was just as cheerful sober, but he seemed even more cheerful than before.

"He can stay missing." Loke sunk into the chair at the table. Blu heard their breakfast sizzling and rushed to tend to it.

"Oh my, did you two get into an argument? Maybe I shouldn't have had him take you upstairs last night?"

"He should have made sure to use his own bed." She crossed her arms on the table and placed the side of her face on top of them.

"Now now Loke, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. You were quite out of it after only a half a glass of wine. Once you started speaking solely in the ancient language, I knew it was time for you to get some rest."

Dias laughed. He was completely wrong and wished he was here to have seen Loke being drunk. "Well, I would have never guessed that Loke would ever drink. Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that she uses a completely different language. There's no way Magnar would have understood you."

"Yeah, no clue. But someone also acts like a five year old when she drinks." Magnar came down the stairs and dropped into a chair out of Loke's line of sight and crossed his arms as he leaned back into the chair.

Taranis knew this was going to be a bad event if they all remained this hostile and was quick to change the subject. "I have good news for all of you. It seems Blu has made a fantastic smelling breakfast for you and I got you a ride to Wiil. All that we ask in return is for you to ask the god of the sea for calm waters and the god of the sky for clear days."

A ritual was something that would almost always invigorate Loke. She quickly sat up. "Of course, it's the least I could do!" As fast as she sat up, she was already running up the stairs to begin preparations.

"She recovers fast. I'm not sure about my face though." Magnar rubbed his face. "She should just slap anyone that attacks us and I wouldn't even be needed."

"If there's anything to get her going, it was always paying homage to the gods. Ever since she was small. Ah, Blu, Dias, I should explain. I'm an old friend of her family's. I haven't seen her in a long time, but I don't think she wanted to go into too many details last night. Please continue to respect her wishes."

Dias smiled and nodded, fueling his theory. Blu was surprised and after hearing what Dias suggested earlier was even more confused at what to believe.

Breakfast was ready and Blu had to call Loke back down to eat. She took her seat and muttered an apology at Magnar, who taunted her until she had to shout it. She realized she jumped to conclusions after she thought about it for a while but now he was just being a jerk when she was trying to apologize. Once breakfast was over, Loke performed a small ceremony in the yard to entrust the prosperity of the town to the gods. Taranis then led everyone to the small dock in the south west corner of town.

"Ezra is finishing up a quick tour then will be here to take you all to Wiil. Loke, your ceremony was magnificent. Holom should be proud to have you as a high priestess." He wanted to add more, but he resisted.

There was a large commotion at the port as a boat pulled up to the dock. There were so many screaming women that it was almost painful to hear. Loke's face turned pale as she realized the women were screaming for Ezra. 

An overconfident man stepped hopped off the boat and walked towards them, the girls all screaming and following behind him. He was fairly well built and handsome, which enticed the following behind him. 

"Father, are these the people you told me about." Ezra looked at the group. He was starting to become discouraged when it was a boy, a dirty looking older guy, and a man that might stand to take some of his women followers from him. He already didn't like Magnar. But then his eyes drifted to Loke, who was doing her best to not be noticed and especially not recognized. "The gods of fortune, fate, and love have smiled upon me this day! They have brought me my angel! She's even more radiant than I remembered!"

Loke started to step backwards, thinking this was a terrible idea. Dias watched Loke and felt satisfied that he guessed right with more of his theory. 

"Wait! My love! Please do not leave me!" Ezra started towards Loke with long strides and Magnar knew it was time for him to step in. It was part of his job and she did apologize for earlier.

Magnar stepped between Loke and Ezra as Ezra got close to her. Loke had crouched on the ground and pulled her hood further over her head. She was garnering a lot of attention and a lot of it was unpleasant attention and hateful words from the girls that were afraid of losing their precious Ezra. "Look, if you could just keep your distance, I don't think she is too comfortable suddenly being confessed at and I don't think the gods of love are smiling at you since she obviously doesn't want to share your affections."

Ezra stopped and crossed his arms. He narrowed his eyes and looked over Magnar. "So, you must be her man. She probably doesn't really love you. You should leave her before you get hurt. She belongs with me."

Magnar burst into laughter. "I am no such thing. And I'm certain she doesn't love me." He pointed to the red mark that was lingering on his face. "She gave me this beaut this morning."

Ezra didn't believe him and was about to argue more, but Taranis stepped in. "Ezra, why don't you set your feelings aside for the moment and you can all sit and have a nice, calm discussion on the boat." 

Ezra quickly backed off and apologized to all the girls that were behind him and ushered them away with promises of his return with epic stories to be told.

"That boy, sometimes I'm not sure how he ended up like this. Anyway, let's get you all aboard. Loke, I'm really sorry he's like this. Magnar, don't you let him overwhelm her. That goes for you two also."

Everyone nodded and Loke unexpectedly stuck close to Magnar. "I'm not doing this because I want to, but I have no capacity to handle Ezra and I pay you to keep me safe." She kept her voice to a low whisper.

Magnar was surprised at her closeness, but as she spoke the same thing he already thought about, he was relieved they were on the same page. Last night unsettled him a little, but it was also a lesson to never let her drink. "That's the only reason I'm still here."

Ezra came back to find everyone already boarded and spoke a bit with Taranis. He looked a bit dejected when he hugged his father and came towards the boat. Once he was on the boat, his personality shifted greatly and he was back to being loud and boisterous.

"Pops said to take you all to Wiil. I don't mind so much, and if my sweet angel wanted, I would sail her around the world." Loke slunk even further behind Magnar, which only irritated Ezra more. "Anyway, let's hit the water. It's a long trip on a boat this small. You'll have to make do with the small cabin for shelter from the sun and water." Ezra disappeared into the small enclosed area that held his steering system. 

Loke backed away from Magnar and went to the railing and leaned over the edge. "He's so exhausting."

"Why don't you just tell him you're not interested?"

"You think I haven't? And now he suspects me with you? I'm surprised I'm not being sick over this railing."

"He's watching us closely, you know. From inside that room."

"He's been obsessed with me for as long as I can remember, I'm not surprised. But it's terribly uncomfortable and I have a bad feeling he'll try something stupid."

Blu didn't have a favorable impression of Ezra either and joined Loke and Magnar at the rail. "I'm worried about Loke out here on the seas with him too. Even if she's turned him down before, if she does it again here, he might not take it well and he could leave us stranded. Or worse." It was the worse he didn't want to think about.

Loke patted his head. "Thanks. But you might be right. I think if I can stay far enough away from him and if Magnar is distant enough, without being too far, it might end up alright. When we get to Wiil, I'll do my best to really make it clear to him that he has better options back in town."

"Would he not be a terrible option?" Dias was the only one that seemed in support of Ezra. You obviously knew each other once and he doesn't seem all that terrible when he isn’t trying to show off. Onslow was a priest with a wife that wasn't even a priestess. I'm sure you can train this guy to help you."

All three of them looked at Dias like he had grown a second head. 

"What? Was my suggestion that out of place?"

"I never expected you to offer any sort of relationship advice, Dias. Let alone trying to tell me to give that creature a chance. He might be loyal, but he's quick tempered and not gentle about anything. I didn't like him when I was five, let alone as an adult."

"So, it isn't about rank and status, then?"

"What the hell does that mean, Dias?" Magnar knew he hadn't told anyone Loke's secret, but he was worried about what Dias just hinted at.

"Nothing. Not a thing. Loke's a high priestess, maybe she has standards that might be unobtainable. I just suggested that she reconsider them."

Blu watched the argument from Loke's side and wasn't sure what was starting to happen. They were on a small boat and avoiding unpleasant things was out of the question. "I think Loke has more important things on her mind than romance. I mean, that's what it seems to me. Right?" He looked up at Loke.

Loke sighed heavily. "Blu is correct. I've never had any romantic inclinations to Ezra or to anyone else. Onslow and Cyrene spent their entire childhoods together. He went on to be a priest, she learned enough to be an assistant. They built their life and village together and serve the gods together. I've pledged my entire life to the gods," and to her people, "so I don't have much room in it to be selfish about wanting something like that." 

Dias didn't understand her comment about wanting love to be selfish, but he threw his hands up in surrender before walking away. He was starting to push to learn things about Loke. She was tight lipped as ever, but Magnar's reaction told him a lot and he suspected Magnar knew a lot more about her than he was letting on.

Most of the day, everyone picked a corner of the boat to reside in. Magnar and Loke were in the front corners, if you could call the curves of the hull a corner, which weren't too far away from each other so he could keep tabs on her and Ezra inside the wheelhouse. Loke was frantically reading passages from her book trying to learn of anything in the region modern day Wiil would be. She wasn't having a large amount of luck, but there was a passage that seemed to indicate some sort of grand temple, which was what she was frantically looking for. Dias was relaxing, sometimes watching the sky and sometimes watching the waves hitting the side of boat. Blu was overly anxious about everything. He didn't like Ezra much at all and worried he would try to do something bad to Magnar so he could get closer to Loke.

Magnar watched Loke reading and making notes for a while before he got up and dropped a spade on the ground in front of her. "I picked this up in the town. Do you think you can engrave it? I figured something smaller might help when I can't use the other tools."

Loke looked up from the book and then down at the spade. She put her book down and picked up the spade and handed it back to him. "I can do something. But we should wait until we reach the shore. I don't want something to happen to the ship when I finish and it has its unfavorable reaction."

Magnar never actually watched her work, but knew she always came back a bit battered. "Alright. Did you find out anything from that giant book of yours?"

"Maybe. There seems to have been a large temple in this area, but I'm not sure where, exactly. I'm hoping that wherever that is, we might find other believers. Wiil is not really known to have many."

"Maybe..." Magnar was interrupted by Ezra's large frame.

"Hey, uh, sorry about earlier. I haven't seen Loke in a long time and I was a bit overwhelmed by how pretty she got. Can, um, can I talk to her a bit?"

Magnar looked at Loke and her eyes darted between the two of them before she replied. "We can talk, but carefully, quietly, and Magnar stays."

Ezra looked like he was about to argue heavily, but after a few snorts and heavy breaths, he agreed and sat on the ground across from Loke. Magnar sat at Loke's urgent look for him to join them.

"So, um, pops kinda explained you guys are looking for other believers. There's not much outside the village that we'll land near that I've ever seen, but everyone there is pretty poor. I think there might be some believers in the area, though I saw a few broken down shrines in the south part of the village. Maybe they all moved on. I don't really know."

"That could be helpful. Do you know anything about an ancient temple?"

"Nah, never heard anything about that. But I also wanted to ask you somethin' else. Uh, does this guy know that you're... uh..."

"Magnar knows, yes. The others don't."

"Though, I suspect Dias might be starting to come up with something. Maybe you should tell them." Magnar didn't forget about his comment earlier.

"No. Let him have theories. I think it would only cause problems if he knew. But what was your question, Ezra." She nearly choked after she said his name.

"Well, Edras is kinda runnin' the show, right? How come you're not, you know, there more often? A lot of people think you don't really exist."

"I assure you, I'm quite existent. But there are a lot of reasons. Many political, some a little selfish, I suppose. It gets in the way of some things I want to be focusing on."

"Like the religious stuff?"

"Like the religious stuff."

"I'm gonna get a quick nap. We should be fine for a little while. It gets really cold as the night goes on, there are some blankets in those bins over there. And the four of you should stick close to use the body heat."

Magnar called to Ezra as he stood up. "Hey Ezra, we good?"

"Yeah. I was watchin' how you watched her earlier. I think I get it now." Ezra went into his cabin.

"How were you watching me, Magnar?"

"Probably like this." He made a face that looked like an angry glare. 

Loke actually laughed. "Well, there's no mistaking that one. We should get Blu and Dias. It will have less wind up here than back there if we stay low behind the wall here."

"Sure. I'll get them, you get the blankets.”

By morning they had already landed on the warm desert coast. Dias had woken as they were nearing land and spent some time talking to Ezra, still prying for information, but Ezra was surprisingly silent about Loke's past more than she had already explained. The only new thing he had learned was that she seemed to get along well with Ezra's sister, Marisol, but they hadn't seen each other in a long time as well. Looking back the remaining three still sleeping, Ezra snorted. They looked almost like some sort of family. Blu was asleep on Loke's lap while she leaned on Magnar's arm. If he didn't entirely hate the situation, he might have found it somewhat cute. 

Gradually the rest of them awoke to the morning sun. Blu woke with the urge to apologize and when Blu moved, Loke stirred and accidentally hit Magnar in the head when she stretched her arms. Magnar instinctively jumped up to a defensive position, thinking he was being attacked. He looked around as he realized there was no enemy while everyone stared at him with confusion and did his best to hide his embarrassment.

"Isn't she a beautiful morning?" Ezra came out of his cabin since he had heard everyone awake. "I don't have much to eat here and I don't know about all of you, but I'm starving. There's a village about a half hour away. Let's say we go get something there."

Loke looked over the rail. Holom was no longer visible and the sand that lay ahead of them seemed to go on for days. If there was some ancient temple or something here, she wasn't sure she was ever going to find it. Next to her, Magnar was also looking out over the desert and his groan replaced her heavy sigh. 

"There aren't any landmarks to speak of. Nothing! How am I supposed to chart something like this?"

Blu heard Magnar, but noticed Loke looked a bit dejected as well. Maybe he shouldn't have suggested coming to Wiil, but they didn't have a lot of other viable options. He tugged on Loke's mantle and motioned for them to catch up to Ezra and Dias. "We can figure it all out as we go, right? We came all this way, I'm sure it'll come into place." Both of them looked at Blu and realized he was probably right. It was still discouraging, but Loke had a goal and Magnar had a job to do. 

"Hey, slowpokes! Grub is this way!" Ezra called back to the three still on the boat. 

Feeling the pangs of hunger, they gathered their items and rushed to catch up to Dias and Ezra.

The small village was small and, as Ezra mentioned before, rather destitute. They did find a place to eat, but not a lot as discussed amongst each other. There were a lot of girls that seemed interested in Ezra here, as they were back in Holom. Ezra seemed to love the attention and, if anything, they might be able to use his popularity to get information later.

While many village girls were giving their attention to Ezra, the rest of them decided to explore the town on their own. It wasn't very large, so it was a fairly easy to accomplish task. Dias and Magnar each went their own ways while Blu stuck with Loke. They were usually in charge of shopping when the group divided this way, and whatever information they could acquire was always an extra bonus. They managed to procure some beads that were about the right size for Blu's weapon, some meager rations, and a tip about how most towns are located near an oasis, but the capital city of Nakbe was due south from this village at about a day's hike. No one heard of any ruins or old temples or shrines, but there were stories about people that lived under the desert sands. No one they spoke to knew much else, other than it was mostly a bedtime story parents told their children.

Once it seemed that everyone in town had been spoken to, they all met up back at the inn just in time to see a hoard of girls wailing and Ezra waving at them as he was walking away. Seeing the group, he took a slight detour to speak with them once again.

"I gotta head back to Holom while the winds are in my favor. Be careful here, this country's sun can make people crazy." He started to step forward to try and embrace Loke, in which she moved as fast as she could behind Magnar. Ezra grunted, but backed away. "Loke, you'll always be my love, but I realize that there are things that require your love more than I do. I get that. But, if it's ok, can I still write to you?"

"I guess. Just as long as the content isn't the same as the eight thousand other ones. And have Marisol write to me once in a while too. I miss her."

"Alright. I can handle that. Magnar, you take care of her, ok? I know she's payin' you and all, but she's good for us. We'll not do well without her."

Magnar knew he meant both believers and the country of Holom would suffer if something happened, but he didn't need that staining his hands either. "Yeah, I guess I can manage that."

"Great. You guys too, you help him keep her safe."

Blu nodded enthusiastically and Dias simply shrugged.

"Alright, I'm off to my boat. If you guys ever need a ride somewhere, send word and I'll come pick you up!" They watched Ezra leave to the wails of naive young girls trying to convince him to stay.


	9. Hot Desert is Hot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group reaches Nakbe. What sort of things will they encounter in the desert? Who is this new person that they seem to keep running into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is pretty long. enjoy :)

Loke dropped Magnar's spade onto the table next to his breakfast as she kept walking back towards the washroom. She looked like she was up all night and was covered in sand. Blu walked in a few moments behind her, also looking exhausted and not even acknowledging Dias or Magnar.

Magnar tried to shield his food from the sand that bounced off the spade. "What's up with them? I know we asked Blu to stick with her if she left the building, but was she seriously gone all night?" 

"It seems so. I've noticed that Blu has been spending a bit more time with her lately." Dias was mostly focused on eating, not caring too much about whatever was bothering Magnar about Loke.

"So, feeling lonely since he's not bugging you to teach him things anymore?"

"To the contrary, it's been a bit of a relief. He's a bright boy and quite persistent. I could probably teach him a lot of things, but I think he needs a little more life experience before I show him anything beyond first aid." Dias didn’t really mind teaching Blu, but it was everyday and he needed a break.

"Is that so? Instead, Loke's teaching him anything he asks to know. I wonder if that isn't more dangerous." Magnar wasn’t sure what kind of strange things she might put into his head.

Dias shrugged. "She asked me last night if it was alright if she borrowed him. As if he was an apprentice or something. She mentioned that she could use his creativity."

"Has he done anything particularly creative before? I mean, outside of his culinary skills." Magnar set down his spoon and took a look at the engravings. They were a similar, but something wasn’t quite the same.

"Here and there he'll come up with a different way of doing something that was completely new, but nothing extraordinary. Maybe she noticed something we didn't. Though, unless it's religion related, I doubt she would notice much." Dias was still waiting for her to reveal a bit more about herself.

"That's for sure. She's hyper focused on unusual things. I guess it isn't all that surprising that she's a high priestess."

"Perhaps. She is quite knowledgeable about the Biyeho." Dias noticed Magnar was hyperfocused on Loke this morning. He wondered if it was some sort of jealousy towards Blu, which amused him more, as he Magnar sent Blu with her himself.

It was a considerable amount of time before either one came back to the table. Loke looked physically refreshed, but her eyes spoke of great exhaustion. Blu joined them a few moments later, and barely could keep his head off the table. 

"I was going to suggest we visit the capital since it is about a day away from here, but neither of you look like you can make that trip. And I'm not carrying either of you." Magnar pushed a bowl towards Loke. "Here, eat something."

Loke looked at it and made a face and an even worse face after she ate a spoonful. The flavor wasn't all that bad, but it had an unusual gummy texture she wasn’t terribly fond of. Magnar pushed a bowl towards Blu as well, and Blu recognized the dish and suddenly had a spurt of energy to begin eating.

"So, I see the mark here is a little different than the other ones. Does it do something different?" Magnar pointed at the design.

"It should. When we're outside of town, I'll give you full instructions. It works like the other ones, but has a special ability of its own." Loke continued to poke at her food. She wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as Blu was about it, but she was hungry and she didn’t think there was going to be any other food options.

"Can we leave later and just travel at night? It's a lot less hot out there at night." Blu was already finished his bowl and noticed Loke wasn’t eating much. He rummaged through their provisions and sprinkled a little bit of sugar on it, hoping she’d like it better. After that, he put his head back on the table and looked like he was going to sleep for days.

"That might not be a bad idea. Loke looks like she could use some rest and I have no objections. The decision is with you, Magnar." Dias took his bowl, as well as Blu’s and stacked it on the side of the table. 

"I guess that's alright. We should find out what might be waiting for us out there, though. I don't want any surprise bear attacks or something."

"No bears. Bugs. Lots of bugs." Loke was still trying to get her breakfast down. It was better with the sugar, but it still wasn’t a texture she was enjoying. "I hate bugs."

They did wait most of the day before heading out to find Nakbe because of Loke and Blu's fatigue. Magnar was gradually getting used to what little landmarks there were to work on his map, but it was still frustrating without much of anything to reference distance to. He did, however, appreciate what Loke did to the spade. It was a little more complicated to use, but if used the right way, he could cause a directed earthquake, that was quite small in scope, but enough to upend a potential enemy. For now, Dias decided to stop probing into Loke's past. He suspected enough things that fit together that it was a matter of time until the secrets would be revealed. Blu was spending more time with Loke, asking her about different gods, common rituals, ceremonies, and how to properly give offerings of objects and words when objects aren’t available. Depending on the god, they may even prefer words to physical offerings.

Blu’s suggestion about traveling at night wasn’t a bad idea, but it was surprisingly cold compared to the extreme heat during the day. It was most of their topic of conversation while they traveled and fought off giant scorpions. They arrived in Nakbe around dawn and were able to witness the city waking up. There were merchants setting up their shop for the day on the main street and several of them paused to watch the group carefully as they walked through. It was evident they weren’t used to strangers, and given their clothing, it was obvious they weren’t locals. While looking for the inn, one of the merchant stalls had a familiar face setting up some dining wares. 

“Winter, is that you?” Blu was confused why Winter would be here, but a familiar face was always a good thing for him.

“Hey everyone! I never dreamed I would see you all here!” Winter was way too chipper for such an early hour.

“What are you doing in Wiil?” Blu never really knew what Winter was up to, but Wiil wasn’t a place he’d expect to have seen her.

“Well, you see, after I let you guys through to Holom, I figured that wasn’t a good job for me and stuff in Teo isn’t so great, so I hitched a few rides on some boats and voila! Here I am! Though, I have some advice for you guys. Watch out for pick pockets. Looting is big time here and you lot make a nice easy target. Also, they’re not used to foreigners. The man I work for here is nice, but not everyone else is. He also runs a pub at night. But while most people won’t give you problems, they’ll stare at you a lot. And I don’t know how much they would be willing to tell any of you either.”

“That’s a shame. I was hoping to get something from Wiil. Maybe you heard something, Winter. We’re looking for a temple, shrine, or some ruins or something that might have some believers living nearby.” Loke was hopeful, and if the townsfolk couldn’t help them, maybe an acquaintance could.

Winter paused to think. “I haven’t heard anything, but I’ll keep my ears open! Come see me later after you get settled.”

Winter was completely right about the staring. They heard a few shouts to go home and leave this place, but occasionally, there would be a call to check out their wares. There were children starting to filter into the streets and a fair number of people that looked like they were homeless. It took a while, but they eventually found an inn. The innkeeper was kind in words, but their expression told a different story. They paid for one room for the night and would all stay in that one room. This city didn’t feel terribly safe and was a bit of a labyrinth. Instead of pairing off, today they would get a little rest then head out to investigate as a group. 

They heeded Winter’s words and made sure not to put anything of value that could be easily swiped from their person, as well as not leaving much in the room that couldn’t be replaced. They hadn’t explored any town as a full group before, so dealing with Magnar pausing to take down some map notes or Loke and Blu shopping for essentials or Dias seeming disinterested in most of whatever was going on was an adjustment for everyone. Luckily, by the end of the day, most had benefited from the experience. Each time they got turned around and seemingly lost, Magnar was there to help with his rough map. Shopping was tedious, but they got some useful items and some new foods to try that didn’t seem all that perishable. Dias’ disinterest kept everyone moving along even if he didn’t mind taking it easy and looking around. While most of the people they spoke to weren’t outwardly displeased with them, they also weren’t very forthcoming with information. Eventually, they did stumble upon the stand where Winter was selling goods once again.

“Everyone’s here! Great! I got some info for you guys! So, I talked to my boss and while he doesn’t know much, he said there’s a shaman in town that might be able to help you. Wiil wasn’t one of those countries involved in the wars like the others, right? Well, it looks like they have their own thing going on here, mostly. So, no Tumben and Biyeho spats here! But I guess since they don’t take too well to outsiders, it makes some sense.”

“Do you think the shaman would see us?” Loke was a little worried. There didn’t seem to be a lot of people that even liked them spending money in their stalls, let alone having a conversation with them.

“Maybe! I mean, my boss seemed to think that was your best option, so it’s worth a shot, right?”

Magnar shrugged. “She’s right. Worst he could do is turn us away. Winter, do you know where to find him?”

“Hm, yeah, I think so? I mean, this town is crazy curvy with roads and stuff, but he said he was on the third street north of the tower on the west side of the city in a red clay building with straw roofing. He said you couldn’t miss it.”

They hadn’t been to that part of the city, but Dias could see the gleam of excitement in Magnar’s eyes. Magnar was itching to map this place, especially since it was a lot more complex than his usual places that he had mapped before. When they went back to the inn to drop off their purchases, Dias and Blu opted to stay behind so Magnar could lose himself in map making while taking Loke to see the shaman. Blu figured he would be in the way and Dias would find out about it after they returned anyway. 

They hadn’t gotten too far west when Loke felt someone trying to slide her bracelet off her arm. Magnar was quick to trip him and noticed a pouch was removed from his belt in the process. Loke’s bracelet was valuable to the entire group, but as far as actual monetary value, it probably wasn’t really worth all that much. The pouch that was lifted from Magnar was worth almost nothing in the desert, but was most precious to him. The thief looked a little younger than they were and when faced with a garden spade inches from his nose, he was quick to hand the pouch over. 

“Here, take it back. It doesn’t even feel like money anyway.”

“Because it isn’t.” Magnar was doing all he could to restrain himself.

Loke took the pouch from the young man since Magnar was still holding the spade close to his nose. She hadn’t known what was in their either, but she knew the feel of money well and this most certainly wasn’t it. 

“You got to keep your stuff. You gonna let me go now?” The young man just wanted to run away. He only wanted to eat something but actual encouters weren’t something that was worth his time.

“Are you going to stop stealing from innocent people?” Magnar was serious as Loke looked on beside him. It was the first time she noticed what could be some sort of temper. He always seemed much more composed, even when he was arguing with her.

“Yeah, sure.”

Magnar didn’t believe him for a minute, but lowered his spade. “Don’t let me catch you again, or you’ll understand what it feels like to be harvested.”

The young man looked at him with a look of confusion before taking off. 

“Magnar, that line was pretty stupid. But what’s in the bag?” She handed it back to him.

“Seeds. Where ever we’ve been, I’ve picked up or bought some seeds. When I get home, I’m hoping that my soil will accept them and I can grow some different things. Especially if grains aren’t going to work.”

Loke was surprised. She hadn’t noticed him acquiring them at all, but thought it would bode well for his future if he was able to return to a peaceful life in Caax. “May the god of agriculture smile upon your future harvest.”

“Yeah, if only he did that for all of us this year.” Magnar was clearly sulking. He attached the pouch back onto his belt.

“Even gods have their reasons when things don’t work in our favor.” Loke tried to cheer him up but she didn’t expect it to work.

Magnar resented the gods when they seemingly would abandon the people. It was frustrating and he didn’t know why the gods would turn on him when he hadn’t turned on them like the others did. “I guess. Now, we should be close to this shaman guy. This is the third street, but I don’t see anything that fits the description.” He wanted to put his mind onto something else. 

Something about the pickpocket poked at Loke’s mind. “Do you think that kid will ever stop stealing?” 

“Huh? We’re looking for the shaman for you and you’re asking about that kid?” Magnar was taking out his frustrations on Loke. In the back of his mind he knew he shouldn’t, but it was already too late.

“I know, but I got the sense he didn’t really want to be stealing.” Her voice was a lot softer than before.

“He’s probably poor, like everyone else. Not everyone is as fortunate as you, you know.”

Loke frowned but didn’t say anything. She started looking down the streets for the red house and straw covered roof to distract her from the unnecessary argument that she was trying to avoid. 

Magnar felt like he crossed a line somehow and feebly attempted to fix it. “But, you know, seeing people in places like this might make you a better queen for your people.”

“Hm.” Loke didn’t necessarily agree, nor did she disagree. He had been right about her privilege and it was something that weighed on her mind more often than before. She was failing as a queen. She had known that for quite some time but it was a lot more prevelant in her thinking lately. She wasn’t too worried about Edras before, but as she watched things unfold first hand in Caax, she was starting to worry about the safety of everyone – Tumben and Biyeho alike. 

“Hey, you think that place is it?” Magnar pointed to a short, slender building that the doorway wasn’t much taller than they were and wasn’t much wider than an outhouse. 

Magnar’s declaration pulled her out of her own mental distraction. “She did say we couldn’t miss it. It seems to match the description.” 

They approached the tiny home and as they went to knock on the door, the door swung open without anyone to have opened it. Feeling a little hesitant at the strange event, Magnar led the way inside with Loke close behind him. A few steps in and the door slammed shut behind them. In front of them was a staircase that led underground. It was dimly lit with torches hanging on wall sconces. The steps were made of a heavy stone and it didn’t seem to reach the bottom for quite a long way. Once they reached the bottom they found themselves in an empty, expansive room with barely any light and two doors. One door was directly in front of them while the other was to the right. The floor had quite elaborate textiles and it was almost a shame to walk on them. The door to the right opened and an elderly man staggered into the large room. 

“Welcome, believers. My name is Mirah. I’ve been waiting for you. Please, come inside.” Mirah grinned.

Even more confused and nervous, they followed the man into the room. The room was small, but there were cushions on the floor for the three of them and a few small bowls with incense burning throughout the room. 

“Please, have a seat.”

Magnar was concerned about this entire situation. The door upstairs was weird enough, but how did he know they were believers and that they were coming to see him? “How did you know we were believers?”

“I know a lot of things. Some of it is observation, some of it is divination, and some of it is just a guess. I heard from a nice lady in the market you were looking for information about a certain thing. That suggested that you were believers. From observation, I can tell that you’re a hard worker, physically, and this young lady here works rather hard mentally. Although, divination tells me there’s a lot more to her than meets the eye.”

“When you say divination, you are referring to fortune telling?” Of all the things that went along with being a high priestess, fortune telling was the one thing that she wasn’t terribly good at. She was well aware of the symbolism and the practices in theory, but in practice, she wasn’t able to produce accurate fortunes.

“In most ways, yes. There is a little more to it, but I don’t think you came to discuss our differing methods. Now, tell me, what are your names? Starting with you, my physically strong one.” Mirah’s grin didn’t seem to fade.

“Me? Magnar Lunde.”

“Fine name. It suits you well. Your parents must have had great hopes for your future. Young miss, may I have your name?”

“Loke Aumoe.”

“Aumoe... I believe I knew your parents. They were quite the dignified family. I was saddened to hear of their passing, but I have no doubt they had the utmost faith in you.”

Loke wasn’t sure how to respond to him. Her parents rarely let anyone know their true names, as they were monarchs and the family name was removed from public knowledge once they were coroneted. The rare people that would have known that type of information were very close to family. She had to make sure it was really her parents or if he was trying to elicit information. “I’m not sure they would have had that much faith in me, I was quite young when they passed.”

“Yes, but I’m certain they entrusted you to the religion in order to benefit the nation.” 

“I don’t intend on being offensive, but how is it that you were familiar with my parents?” Mirah was making Loke extremely nervous. She also wasn’t familiar with the type of incense burning and it was starting to bother her.

“No offense taken. Long before you were born, they had come to me quite often for my fortunes. Fortune telling is a large part of your belief system, is it not?”

“It is. But I’m not quite sure that satisfies my curiosity.” Loke wondered why her parents would come to someone in Wiil when there were plenty of quality fortune tellers in Holom City alone.

“If you’re fearful of being discovered, I am not someone you need to be concerned about. They entrusted me with valuable information in the event that one day it may become useful to protect the country they loved so much. It may have been meeting you that everything was in preparation for.”

“So, I’m not sure I’m keeping up. You knew the previous king and queen before she was born and because you know their last name, that makes it like, a special key word or something?” Magnar wondered if he was even supposed to be sitting in on this conversation.

“In a way, I suppose that is one way of looking at it. But as I said before, they entrusted me with valuable information. I suspect that is the information which you are seeking today.”

The incense was starting to actually affect Loke. During Magnar’s brief exchange, she was starting to notice that she was getting a little light headed and feeling somewhat dizzy. She felt like everyone was getting further and further away, but she was doing her best to hide it from them. “What did they tell you? I read everything they left behind and didn’t find much that is for use outside of Holom.”

“Hey, Loke, you alright? You’re looking a little pale.” Magnar noticed her increasing paleness even in the dim light but mostly that she seemed a little wobbly. 

“It might be the incense. To some people, it has an intoxicating effect, but it won’t really harm her.”

Magnar already knew what she was like when she was drunk, but this wasn’t quite the same, although she was starting to mumble in a language he didn’t understand. He helped her lie down into a comfortable and safe position so that she wouldn’t fall over and possibly hurt herself. “I’m sure you would rather relay all the information to her directly, but seeing as she’s not even in the same language anymore, would I be appropriate to tell?” He didn’t want to waste this opportunity.

“If she trusted you enough to bring you along and about her family background, then I may hope to be able to trust you with the information as well. This is information that should not be written down, or is it information that you can afford to get incorrect. When she comes to, be sure to relay it exactly as I tell you. The future of all of you Biyeho relies on it. But there is one piece of information that I do want to give you that you must not tell her. It is something for her to learn on her own.”

Magnar and Mirah spoke at great length while Loke slept a rather fitful sleep. Once Mirah was satisfied Magnar had all of the information correct by forcing him to repeat it a number of times, he guided Magnar, with Loke on his back, to the stairs and bid them blessings of their gods and his gods and all gods in between. It took Magnar far longer to get up the stairs carrying Loke than it would have otherwise. Even back in the waning daylight of the city, she still was out cold, but still mumbling strange words. He walked back to the inn amongst averted glances and deep stares. He heard some whispers, but he ignored them as much as he could. Back at the inn, he got her onto the bed and dropped to the floor beside it, exhausted.

“Magnar, what happened to Loke? Are you alright as well?” Dias was already trying to think of what he might need to prepare to help both of them.

“I’m good, just tired from carrying her all the way here. She’s basically feeling some effects from some weird incense. She’ll be fine, or so I was told.”

Dias leaned in to smell the incense off of Loke and heard her mumbles. He recognized the scent but not many of the words. “Has she been speaking like this for a while?”

“Pretty much since she fell asleep. It’s that language used for her rituals, I think. That’s what it sounds like to me.”

“I would be inclined to agree, but it also feels a lot more ancient than that.”

“I’ve seen some of the books in her home, I wouldn’t doubt it if it were some old, dead language. But she’ll be fine, right?” Magnar didn’t care about what she was saying, but more about how long she already had been unconscious.

“Yes. The incense is a mostly harmless type. Though, since she seems to be sensitive to it, it may have been best that you returned when you did. Prolonged exposure of things like that often have unfavorable effects.” Dias stood with his arms crossed.

Blu had come back in with a few glasses of water for them and only heard Dias’ last line. “Loke’s not going to die, is she?”

“No, of course not. I was explaining to Magnar that his timing was good and she should be fine.”

Blu let out a heavy sigh and handed a glass to Magnar and set the other on the table for when Loke woke up. “Did the shaman tell you anything?”

“Yeah, but I need to relay it to her first. He was very adamant about that and I’m a little afraid that if I don’t, bad things will befall me.” Magnar unconsciously rubbed his head where the shaman kept hitting him if he made a mistake.

“Was he really that intimidating?” Blu was a little frightened but his curiosity was stronger.

“No, not at all. But shamans are a little different than our regular fortune tellers, so while I don’t necessarily believe in whatever weird things they do, I don’t want to be on the wrong side of it just in case.” Magnar polished off his glass of water and set it on the table beside Loke’s full glass.

Blu nodded. He didn’t quite understand since he wasn’t really familiar with shamans and other aspects of the culture in Wiil, but he had a fair idea that if Magnar didn’t want to mess with it, it probably wasn’t worth it to meddle. 

Loke woke in the middle of the night, feeling disoriented and nauseas. She noticed the water and although she drank it in hopes that it would help, she felt even worse. Dias and Blu had been up in shifts most of the night making sure she was alright and Dias was there to catch her as she nearly fell off the bed.   
“Dias, where am I? Wasn’t I with the shaman?” She was profoundly confused.

“You’re in the inn. Magnar brought you home.” Dias was helping her sit up.

“Oh. I don’t feel well. Did something happen to me?” 

“I suppose I could call it a hang over, although you weren’t drinking, as far as I’m aware.” Dias could see she was still pale and tried to get her to drink more water. 

Loke was starting to get upset with herself. “Everything is blurry. I can’t remember what happened, but I know that I dreamed many dreams.”

Dias sat beside her with a large bucket as she tried to sort out her thoughts and surroundings, but nothing was coming to her mind clearly except for her dreams. 

Blu woke to Loke’s illness and Dias instructed him to bring more water for her. Magnar also was awakened by the movement in the room and worried that he didn’t get her out of that smoky room sooner but he also wondered if this had anything to do with what the shaman had told him to keep silent from her. 

“Dias, is there anything you want me to do to help?” Magnar was feeling helpless, but still wanted to do what he could to help her. It was his job to keep her safe and he was feeling a little like a failure.

“I think her fate is in the hands of the god of health right now. We just need to keep her comfortable and hydrated. Are you feeling any out of sorts?” Dias wanted to make sure Magnar wasn’t feeling any delayed effects.

Magnar shook his head. “Not at all. Could that smoke really have done this? There were a few bowls smoking, but it didn’t seem excessive.”

“Certain people seem to be affected by it, but no one really understands why. There isn’t anything to counter it that I’m aware of. It mostly needs to play out like the day after a bit of fun in the pub.” 

Loke struggled to keep water down, but managed to drink more and curled up under the blanket. Blu sat beside her while Dias cleaned up and Magnar kept rewinding the day in his head across the room. 

Eventually, Loke fell asleep once again and Dias lit an unusual candle beside her. The flame was unusually still and didn’t let off any smoke. He explained that it was a candle that was to be burned in offering to the god of health in hopes of a speedy recovery. If the candle begins to flicker and burn as a normal candle, then the god has given his blessings and the patient should recover faster by the time the candle would completely burn through. Blu offered to keep an eye on her while the others got some rest of their own. He was curious to know what happened earlier in the day, but what triggered his fascination was when the candle began to flicker. It flickered violently and Loke shivered just as violently. And about as abruptly as it started, it ended. Blu wasn’t sure if he should bother waking everyone else, but seeing as she was sleeping much like she usually did and the candle was completely out, he thought everything was now going to be fine. 

Morning was too early for just about everyone. Magnar woke before everyone else and charted his map of the city that he had learned from the previous day to make sure nothing got left out. Loke woke sometime after he did and noticed Blu in a chair beside her bed. He was hunched over, asleep with crossed arms beside her. She carefully slipped out of the bed on the other side, trying desperately not to wake him. 

“You look like you’re doing better. You had everyone all freaked out, you know.” Magnar spoke in a whisper.

“I’m sorry. I really don’t remember anything since we met with Mirah. What was I doing?” 

“You don’t even remember last night? You were pretty sick.”

She shook her head. “No, not really. I feel fine right now though. Rather hungry, actually.”

“We’ll all get some food in a bit. But I think I should talk to you before they wake up. Mirah entrusted me with the information for you. I’m not sure it makes a lot of sense, but I wasn’t allowed to write it down, either.”

“Should I be worried?” She couldn’t even imagine what it could be about.

“Let’s talk in the hall.” Magnar helped her tip toe around Blu and Dias and led her to the end of the hall and into the washroom. 

Loke wasn’t afraid of Magnar, but if anyone saw them enter or leave the washroom together, she was sure it would create attention she didn’t want. “So, what did he want me to know?”

“I don’t quite understand what he referred to, but here goes. Heat does not always mean there is a fire, sometimes the darkness can burn hotter than fiery sand. Light balances the darkness, but is often brightest where there is no light to be found. Fire in the deep water will prove to be as rare as water surrounded by fire. A gentle wind will blow where the earth is fertile, but earth in the wasteland is precious. Lightning strikes the brightest where the landscape is most inspiring. Places where time stands still are bound by three blessings of past, present, and future. I don’t know what to make of any of that, but I guess he thought you would know.”

Loke mumbled some parts of the passage as she thought. “I’ve heard this before, but I’m not sure where. I wonder if the fiery sand refers to Wiil. If that’s the case, then we should figure out why the darkness is so significant.”

“Actually, I might know that. Remember that second door at the bottom of the stairs?”

“What about it? Did he take you there?”

“No, but he did tell me what was there. Apparently, it’s a roadway to a grand underground city. The city itself is quite far and the road is mostly untraveled. He suggested that we don’t use that route because the air is a bit limiting, but if we were to choose that path, we should invest in some specialty goods from the market. There are apparently candles that will work down there better than normal torches and we should also not exert ourselves more than normal. It sounded like a rough trip.”

There was a sudden rash of noise outside the inn, which not only woke Blu and Dias, but Loke and Magnar also heard it and rushed back to the room and look out the window. 

“Oh no. This guy again...” Dias spoke under his breath.

“Do you know him, Dias?” Loke didn’t recognize him at all.

“You don’t remember when he came to Magnar’s house? You must have mostly sleeping during the ordeal. I managed to chase him away for a while, but it seems he’s somehow following us.”

“Dias, who is he? I might have been mostly sleeping, but if he’s following us, I would like to know who he is and for what reasons.” Loke didn’t really remember that event at all, but it didn’t quite answer all her questions.

“Loke, he’s trying to kill you and Magnar. He came to the house with the descriptions of both of you.” Dias spoke matter of factly, yet still didn’t answer her question.

“We weren’t exactly hiding in the city yesterday. Still, how did he know to even come here?” Loke was starting to feel a little suspicious of someone, yet she wasn’t sure who she should be suspicious of.

“Hello all my lovely new friends of Nakbe! I heard there’s a lovely lady with beautiful light green hair in this area! She’s accompanied by an even lovelier young man with dark blue hair! He’s so strong! Can anyone introduce us?” Betti was loud, and he knew he wanted to make sure everyone heard him. He was still dragging a heavy bag, which left a trail in the sand behind him. 

Most of the people stayed away from him but kept moving on their busy mornings. Women ushered their children away and Betti’s light tone was starting to drop the more agitated he became. 

“We need to leave. If he finds either of you, I’m almost certain you won’t live very long. I explained before that he’s a terrifying assassin. For some reason, you two have angered someone enough that they’ve come this far to have you eliminated.” Dias started to pack his things.

Loke looked at Magnar and nodded her head to the west. 

“Are you kidding? We don’t have supplies to do that.” Magnar didn’t have to ask what she referred to.

“What choice do we have? I would rather not die by this guy, especially now. I’m sure we’ll find a way to survive, but Dias said we’re not going to make it if we try to fight him, so we should just try it.” Loke stood firm with her arms crossed.

“Not that we have a lot of time for discussion, but what are you talking about?” Dias covered one of his ears as Betti’s yelling was getting louder and even more annoying. 

“There’s an underground road to an underground city. It’s a long and dangerous road, but we don’t have the right supplies to travel along it. But someone thinks it is a good idea.” Magnar thought it was a terrible idea and hoped the others would agree with him.

“It is a good idea. Even if we don’t have whatever supplies were suggested, we need a way out, and quickly. If our options are that, confront him, or hope we can slip out into the desert, then I might want to place my chances on the first choice.” Dias was packed and ready to go whenever the decided to leave.

Magnar rolled his eyes and started packing his map supplies. It seemed that he wasn’t going to win this argument. “Blu, do you have a thought?”

“I don’t really know what is best, but even if we just hide in there a bit until he goes away, maybe we can come back and get our supplies after?”

Magnar liked that compromise, but wasn’t sure how they were even going to elude this Betti to get to the entrance. “Alright. We’ll try that. We should also try to throw him off a little with a disguise or something.”

“I can tie my hair up so that it doesn’t look too long. And maybe if we travel in pairs, but within eyesight of each other, we can elude him for a little bit. I’ll travel with Dias since both of your hair has some shade of blue. Hopefully, it will minimize his attention on us. Magnar has the map, so as long as he stays a few paces ahead, we should be able to follow him easily.” Loke was about to finish explaining her idea as there was a soft knock on the door before it clicked open.   
Winter stuck a hand in to wave before she slipped inside. “Hey, is that big guy out there looking for you? He’s kinda scary, but surprisingly fashionable.”

“Yes, I do believe he’s after us.” Loke was already starting to pin her hair up as best as she could. Winter grabbed her hand and took over. 

“Winter, would you be able to get us some supplies? We need to vacate quickly, but our intended route has some risks. Magnar, if you can explain to her what we need, Blu, help me pack everything else. We might need to leave some items behind.” Dias didn’t even wait for an answer from Winter before stealing Blu away to pack the rest of their things.

Blu went to help Dias while Magnar explained to Winter what they needed and where to bring it. By the time he finished explaining their needs, she had braided Loke’s hair and wrapped it as a crown around the back of her head. Loke hadn’t really done much of anything with her hair before and was quite impressed with Winter’s talent. 

“I got the list, I’ll do my best! Good luck and hopefully we will both arrive safely!” Winter tapped at her temple and slipped out as easily as she slipped in.

“So, new plan, we do most of the old things and hope Winter helps with supplies. We need to find a way out of here though. He’s right in front of the entrance.”

Blu tentatively raised his hand. “I saw a back door through the kitchen when I was getting water last night. It looked like it went down an alley.”

“Nice idea, Blu. Dias, I’d rather have you and Loke up front since Betti will be behind us. If you start to go the wrong way, I can use some sort of sound cue to get you on the right track.” Magnar was familiar with a few different whistles that he could at least use to get their attention.

“I understand your sentiment, but are you sure about that?” Dias didn’t mind, but was a little curious as to why he wouldn’t want to lead the way.  
Magnar nodded. “Yeah. I think it’s for the better.”

Dias nodded and Blu led everyone down to the kitchen and to the door that led into the alleyway. Dias and Loke cautiously entered the alley and Loke raised her hood. It was blazing hot but she needed to cover her head most of all. Dias waited until Betti was looking away from them before stepping out into the street with Loke. They moved quickly, but not too fast to draw the attention of Betti and to keep within eyesight of Magnar and Blu. Dias’ goal was to ease into a crowd of people to be even less noticed, but there weren’t a lot of people milling about. Most of them had their attentions on Betti. It wasn’t often that anyone made a commotion like this, nor had they seen anyone in this style of dress before. The strange stares that Loke and Magnar were receiving previously were now being thrown Betti’s way and he wasn’t all that excited about it. Magnar and Blu waited until the others were mostly out of view before they stepped out of the alley and started to follow them down the street. Some people started throwing rocks at Betti and he turned to yell at the people when he caught a glimpse of Magnar walking with Blu.

“Hey! Yoo-hoo! Strong man with the blue hair! Wait up! I want to ask you something!” Betti started running down the street towards them.

Loke and Dias heard the commotion, but Dias insisted they keep moving, but could watch from around a corner if things didn’t smooth out nicely.

“Blu, just follow my lead, ok? If things get ugly, run and catch up to Dias and Loke and keep her safe. Help her finish her goals.”

“Don’t make it sound like that. She’s trusting you to catch up. You, no WE have to catch up to her.” Blu didn’t want to think about something happening to any of them, but he also wasn’t sure how this guy was a master at assassination. He was loud and dramatic, weren’t assassins supposed to be silent?

“You’re right. Let’s get through this and join up with the others quickly.” Magnar was very tense as Betti approached them, but agreed with Blu just to appease him.

“You look just like the handsome young man I’m trying to find, but this isn’t the girl that is supposed to be with you.”

“I’m a boy.” Blu muttered, a little annoyed.

“Oh, so you are. But if this handsome fellow is the man I’ve been looking for, where is your little girlfriend? Or have you parted ways?”

“I’m afraid I’m not sure what you are talking about. I have only been traveling with my younger brother.”

“Brother, you say? Hmmm…” Betti looked over Blu, who shifted uncomfortably. 

Magnar had his hand firmly wrapped around the handle of his spade instead of any of his larger tools to minimize the potential for being noticed. He wanted to see if Dias and Loke had gotten further away, but he couldn’t make any moves that would draw attention to them. 

“Well, I suppose you could be related. But maybe you have another relative that is traveling around from Caax with a light green-haired vixen?”

Magnar wanted to laugh at the thought of Loke being a vixen, but he was far too nervous with Betti so close to them. “I’m afraid it is only us traveling and we haven’t been to Caax in a few months, right bro?”

“Right.” Blu managed to get his words out, but he was still really nervous. 

A crowd was starting to develop around them. Many people were coming to their aid and harassing Betti, but others were encouraging everyone to get out of Nakbe and stop disturbing their peace. Some stones were being thrown and in the confusion, a pickpocket attempted to lift some coin from Betti, only to have his hand grabbed tightly in the process. It was a good enough distraction that they could have easily ran off to find Dias and Loke, but Magnar recognized the kid as the one that tried to steal from them earlier. 

“Magnar, what should we do? They stopped throwing things at us and we can easily get out of here now.”

“Yeah, but we met this kid yesterday. He’s a little lacking in smarts, but this isn’t someone he should be taking on. Do you think you could discreetly zap him or something? I can grab the kid and we can try to maneuver through the crowd.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Betti’s hold on the kid was extremely tight, that his hand was starting to turn blue as he was swung about by his arm. Blu had to try and focus in between people that were starting to surround him to get an accurate shot. Magnar had woven through the crowd to where he would likely be dropped. He didn’t want to separate from Blu, but he had to in order to save the kid. Once Blu had a clear shot, he landed a pellet right into Betti’s wrist. It shocked him enough to drop the boy as Magnar predicted he would. Magnar was there to catch the kid as he was dropped to the ground.

“Hey, can you run?”

“Yeah, why? Who are you?”

“Questions later. Just come with me.” Magnar led him through the crowd and met up with Blu near the back of the crowd and they ran towards the nearest alleyway. Betti was still screaming about his hand and the townsfolk started chasing him away with as many rocks as they could throw.  
Blu poked his head out of the alley and looked down towards the crowd. “We probably shouldn’t go back that way. Do you know how to get to where Loke and Dias were going?”

Magnar shook his head. “We didn’t really explore much outside of where we were going. I wish we had time to do that. You ok kid?”  
“Yeah. I’m starting to get feeling back in my hand now. What was going on? Didn’t I meet you yesterday?”

“You tried to pickpocket an assassin. And yes, you tried to swipe my seeds.”

“Whoa, no way! Wait, then were you who he was after? And where’s your girlfriend?”

“She’s not my girlfriend. But apparently, but yes, he is chasing us.” Magnar paused with a bit of a thought. “You’re from around here, right? Can you get us to this location?” He held up his map showing the main road from the hotel to their destination. 

“I guess I can show you how to get there since you saved me from that dude. Follow me.” The kid was a lot faster and nimble than both Magnar and Blu expected.

Blu wasn’t sure if they should trust a thief, but he wanted to be sure Loke and Dias were still safe. “Do you think Loke and Dias went to that place or are they waiting for us along the way?”

“They should have kept going. But we can look out for them along the way.”

Loke and Dias had watched as much as they could from around a corner. When Loke noticed Blu’s shot hit Betti, she started to rush out from the alley, but Dias grabbed her around the middle and held her back. 

“They’ll find us, we should keep going.”

Loke flailed her arms and legs in protest. “But what if they need help? They can’t handle that guy alone!”

“They will find a way to escape. I don’t think they wanted to directly engage either. Look, there’s a huge crowd, I’m sure they will find a way through it. Let’s keep going.” Dias held her tightly, not wanting to let her run to her death.

Loke wanted to argue and protest more, but Dias wasn’t going to let her go if she didn’t calm down and cooperate. She sighed and stopped fighting. “Fine. But if we don’t see them quickly, then we should go back for them. I won’t leave here without them.” She didn’t want to think about them being killed and silently offered words of hope to the god of protection as they briskly went back on their path. 

They reached the street with the small house and found an alley across from it to wait. Loke was anxiously pacing and Dias was getting tired of watching her pace. He debated with himself if he should confront her about his suspicions about her, but he figured she wasn’t in a frame of mind for much of a straight answer. He also wanted to know what it was that Magnar had to say to her. He figured it had to do with why they were going this way, but there wasn’t a lot of explanation about anything going on.

From the opposite direction, Winter was cautiously making her way up the street. She found the small house and looked around, looking for the others. She spotted Loke pacing across the street and trotted over to them. “I got everything Magnar asked for. Some of this stuff is really weird. You guys aren’t doing any of that shaman mumbo jumbo stuff, are you?”

“Our practices and the practices of the shaman have some overlapping qualities and practices, but no, we’re not becoming followers of the shaman. What do we owe you for the items?” Loke started to reach for her money.

“Don’t worry about it. Just make sure to find a way to stop the killing in Caax. I know I’m not alone when I say it’s become a rather scary place, for everyone. I’m almost ashamed to say that I’m not a believer.”

Loke nodded. She understood all too well the importance of her task and all of the innocent people involved. “If only all Solists were as understanding as you are. Thank you. You should probably get back. I can only imagine Betti will be looking for us when he gets through the local people. And while you may not believe in them, may the gods offer their protection upon you.”

Winter smiled and ran off back the way she came. Dias picked up the sack and looked through it. “This looks like what Magnar asked for, but I don’t understand what is so special about the candles. And a house plant? I thought he was joking when he mentioned a plant.”

“The plant is important for us. The air isn’t very good and the plant helps with that. Or so Magnar said.” Loke took the plant and was looking it over. 

“I would have preferred a plant with actual medicinal value.” Dias was putting things back in the bag.

Loke handed him the plant and heard people running down the street. She looked out of the alley to see Magnar and Blu running after the boy that tried to steal her bracelet. “Why is he still with them?” She mostly spoke under her breath, but Dias picked up on it.

“Who is that guy?” Dias squinted to get a better look.

Loke shrugged. “Local thief, I think. He tried to steal from us yesterday. Magnar caught him in the act.”

They stopped across from the alley where Loke and Dias were waiting. Blu and Magnar were nearly out of breath, but the thief wasn’t tired in the least. But it was the thief that noticed Loke and Dias. He looked straight at them and started to back away. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Magnar followed his line of vision and noticed Loke and Dias. 

Blu followed the line of sight as well and ran straight to Loke. “I was so worried! I’m glad you two are ok!”

Loke laughed. “Likewise. But who’s your new friend?”

“I’m not sure what his name is, but Betti was hurting him a lot, so we set him free and he helped us find you.”

“I see.” Dias stepped out of the alley with the bag from Winter. “Our friend came through with your request. We should probably be going.”

Magnar took the bag and looked inside. “Yeah, we probably should. Hey kid, thanks for getting us here.”

“Yeah, thanks for saving my hand. I know it’s weird, but can I come with you guys? It’s not like I have anything holding me to Nakbe.”

“Why would you want to travel with us? We have nothing to offer you. It’s also pretty dangerous, as you can see from that guy back there.” Dias figured this kid would cause more problems than it was worth and he had only just met him.

“Yeah, I get that you guys are in something serious to have an assassin after you. But you were the first ones that ever actually caught me and didn’t turn me in. For sure I would have lost my hands for that. And then you guys saved me again with that big dude for sure! So I feel like I still owe you or something. I’m super nimble and fast. I can move like the wind!” 

Everyone looked at Loke, since no matter what they suggested she would probably have the final word anyway, though they all weren’t without their opinions. Loke thought for a moment, considering the danger and the group’s strengths and weaknesses. Something he said caught her attention and she had some suspicions. “May I ask your name before I decide?”

“Oh, sure. Sorry, I should have told you sooner. I’m Votan. I grew up an orphan here in Nakbe, though I don’t think I was really born here.”

Loke immediately made her decision and didn’t hesitate any longer. “Votan, welcome aboard. You’ve met Magnar and Blu. This is Dias and I am Loke. We should start moving, but I would like to talk to you a little along the way.”

Votan rolled his eyes, but nodded and followed Magnar with everyone else to the small house. 

The house was far darker than it was before. The torches weren’t lit and the door didn’t quite welcome them as it did previously. Magnar lit one of the torches on the wall and carried it down with him, leading the way down the long staircase. 

Meanwhile, Loke’s probing questions were the only thing that echoed through the stairway. “So, Votan, have you any memories of your family?”

“Not really.”

“Do you know the origin of your name?”

“No. I guess my parents gave it to me, but I don’t really remember them. I’ve been called this for as long as I can remember. Why?”

“Your name is rather prominent in the old language of the Biyeho. Do you practice any sort of religion?”

“No, not really. I wasn’t raised with any in particular, either. I mean, I heard things about the problems in other countries with the different religions, but Wiil doesn’t have any major groups of either of them, right? So, it’s still pretty peaceful here. Though, I guess there was something in the orphanage, but that closed up a long time ago. A bunch of us kids had no where to go, so we all are out in the streets.” He hoped her probing questions would end soon. They were getting really annoying.

Loke felt terrible about his living situation, but that wasn’t her greatest concern. She was curious about what was taught in the orphanage and how this random group was full of orphaned children that had very different outcomes. She was also a bit dismayed that he had resorted to street crime, but she knew that was often a sad reality of many. “I’m sorry to hear that. But, there are a few of us in this group that lost our parents while we were young, so you don’t have to feel alone in that way.”

Votan made a face that no one saw in the dark, but he was really starting to find Loke pretty annoying. “Yeah, ok.” He wormed his way through the group to walk next to Magnar. “What’s up with the chick?”

“Loke? Ah, she’s been a little out of normal human interaction for a while. Don’t mind her so much. Oh, and she’s apparently important in her religion, so she says some weird stuff sometimes.” Magnar was focused on trying to get to the bottom of the stairs.

“So why are you traveling with her?” He wondered why any of them were here. They could just leave her back in town and to wherever they were going without her, especially if she is part of the mix up with that assassin. 

“Because she hired me to. She’ll probably regret the bill she’s going to get, but I’m pretty sure she’s aware of the cost.”

“Whoa, so she’s loaded? I thought that bracelet looked kinda cheap, but is it worth a lot then?”

“She does seem to have excess money, however that bracelet isn’t worth anything to anyone else. And try not to steal from us. We might not be big and scary like Betti, but we’re capable of handling you.” Magnar reached the bottom of the steps and stood aside while everyone reached the open room to join him. 

Everyone except Loke took a candle from the bag. Loke was entrusted with the plant and she wasn’t to be left without someone by her side. Since they were going into a new area, Loke would be in the middle with Blu and Dias would follow behind them while Magnar and Votan would be leading the group. Votan was assigned to stick with Magnar, mostly to keep an eye on his sticky fingers. Magnar carefully opened the door and felt a strange wind rush out. It almost sounded like there were words being whispered upon the wind, but he still entered the dark tunnel. Once Dias closed the door behind them, their original torch extinguished itself and the candles flickered, but remained lit. Loke held the plant close to her bosom and they walked in silence for a while, keeping an eye on their surroundings.


	10. Under the Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loke and Co. make the long journey through the tunnel and reach an unknown destination. Will this place be in their benefit? Will it give Loke any actual answers? Will it create more questions?

The tunnel was littered with bugs and small creatures. It ran dark and deep and didn’t seem like there was any end in sight. It had only been a few hours and probably still rather early in the day, but they were all starting to feel the effects of the environment. Their bodies felt heavier and fatigue was setting in much sooner than any of them expected. Votan had been the most energetic, but even he was noticing a significant change. They had some prepared food to eat along the way, but it didn’t seem to help matters. Each time they took a break, at least two people napped to try and regenerate some energy to keep moving. 

While Dias and Votan napped, Magnar sat next to Loke to try and understand the tunnels. “So, we’ve been following this tunnel for hours. We don’t seem any closer to anything. I wish I asked that old man how long we would go to find anything.”

“I think it’s long to act as a deterrent. There are a lot less graffitti on the walls compared to earlier, meaning that most that have started, likely gave up and went back. I’m holding the plant, so I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to inspect the walls so much, but I have noticed them smoothing out. I suspect as we get closer to wherever this leads, there should be more to see. But I think it wouldn’t be wise to give up.”

Blu came to sit near them. “I wonder if it isn’t some sort of road that leads to another town, or something.”

“It’s quite possible. But I’m still a little bothered by that passage from earlier. Brightest where there is no light to be found... I’m wondering if we’ll find something down here that relates to that.” Loke was finding it harder to think in this environment.

“More importantly, I’m wondering if we can still trust Votan. He hasn’t tried anything up front, but we should be vigilant with him.” Magnar glanced at Votan. He seemed innocent while he was sleeping, but he wasn’t sure about him when he was awake.

Loke tipped her head back against the wall. “I have the feeling he’s hiding something about himself. If your name was likely given by the people around you, they wouldn’t have chosen the name Votan without a reason.”

“Why is his name so important? Couldn’t it be from his parents?” Blu heard the conversation in the stairwell as well as everyone else did, but nothing seemed unusual to him.

Loke tried to stare at a ceiling she couldn’t see. “It could be, but who named him isn’t as important as his name. Votan was one of the original vessels for the gods. There were originally a small handful of early gods that chose human vessels and Votan was one of those early vessels.”

“So, he was named by someone that’s familiar with the history of the old religion?” Magnar didn’t care a whole lot, but this conversation was better than nothing.

Loke nodded. “Votan was a vessel for wisdom. He brought about a lot of education for people and most of the mantras and rituals we still practice today. It was also said he had quite a control over time.”

“That isn’t insignificant. But this guy is a street thief. If anyone was out there educating people and knowing rituals and stuff, that would be you.” Magnar wasn’t sure where she was going to learn any more information about him if he wasn’t willing to talk about it.

Blu’s eyes widened. “He’s right, Loke. But the original Votan sounds more like you than him.”

“There’s no way to compare me to the original vessel. He knew far more than I ever could manage to learn. But I’ll take your compliments. Thank you.” She brought her head back forward and smiled at both of them.

“Can you tell me more about the vessel thing later? It’s been a while since you had a chance to teach me things.” Blu didn’t think now was the appropriate time, but he wouldn’t decline learning more about Biyeho.

Loke smiled at Blu. “Of course. You interested too, Magnar?”

Magnar stretched out and slid down the wall a little. “Me? Nah. I’m not sure I’ll benefit from learning any of that stuff. But if he tells me anything related to that stuff you just said, I’ll let you know.” 

“Thanks.”

Once Dias and Votan woke from their nap, they continued traveling through the tunnel. The alternating naps and meals continued on a regular basis for at least four days when the food started becoming scarce and portions were consciously being made smaller. There was also an increase in bugs and rodents in not only volume, but size. Blu managed to make some of them edible, so their rations were being reduced at a slightly slower pace. Loke noticed the wall art completely disappear, but as they were starting to fall apart as a group, she noticed it pick up again, and in great detailed descriptions in an ancient lettering. 

“We should be almost there!” Loke’s excitement was the most excited any of them had been in days. “Look, this writing says that there is a temple up ahead!”

“Does it say how far? There are skeletons around here, too.” Magnar slept the least out of everyone and he was becoming the most irritable, although they all were getting on each others nerves. 

“I don’t think so, but we’re doing better than these poor souls and the writing is so old, yet so clear. We shouldn’t be far.”

Blu looked at the wall with Loke. He couldn’t understand any of it, but the increase in pictures looked promising. It looked like it was telling a story and he tried to look at the images and see what kind of story the pictures told. The longer he looked at it, the more it started to make a bit of sense. “This picture looks like they’re doing something to someone at the temple. Is this place safe?”

Loke went back to where Blu was looking. She read the writing and looked over the images again. “The writing mentions a ritual site, but it doesn’t explain much about what type of rituals.”

“Shh, I think I hear something else aside from us.” Dias motioned for all of them to keep quiet and carefully listened. He could hear the faint sound of chatter up ahead and it seemed to be getting closer.

The group waited until the owners of the voices came near them. The group consisted of a trio of men that varied in ages from a boy to an older man. They were stunned to see the five of them with candles and a plant and spoke in a generally unfamiliar language with each other, except Magnar recognized it immediately as sounding something like what Loke murmured when she was intoxicated. Loke, however, wasn’t completely aware of it at first, but there was something about it that felt familiar. Seeing as no one really seemed to understand them, they switched to the common language. 

“We don’t get visitors often to our city. What brings you all here today?” The man that seemed to be the middle of the ages asked the group.

Magnar spoke up first, knowing Loke would give a long winded explanation that no one really wanted to hear. “We’re looking for other cities in Wiil that might have some clues to find some people we’re looking for.”

“Well, you’ve come to the most isolated of all cities. Welcome to Nono. We’re not much of a grand city anymore, since many have gone to the surface, but there are a fair number of us remaining. It is our job to defend the temple as well. Have you come to visit the temple? It isn’t as grand as the one in that northern country. We took a pilgrimage once. It was quite beautiful, but getting there was a bit tough for us.”

Loke was flipping through the pages of her book while the man spoke. Finding what she was looking for, her eyes brightened and she had an excited smile as she held up the book for the men. “Is this your temple?”

The older man chuckled. “That looks like it did long, long ago. It’s mostly a ruin now, but we still have a lot of pride in it. May I ask where you got that book, love?”

“It was given to me as a young child by my parents. I’ve treasured it ever since. I’ve added a lot of pages to it, though.”

“So it seems. Come, we’ll show you around Nono. I am Aapo and this is my son, Dacey, and grandson, Naran. What were your names?”

“Thanks. I’m Magnar. This is Loke, Dias, Blu, and Votan.” Magnar pointed to each person as he introduced them.

“Those are some names. I think I might like to speak to you all in depth a little later, if that is alright. Dacey’s wife is a wonderful cook. We’ll have her cook for you tonight.”

Dias was a little hesitant by the overwhelming hospitality towards them. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but you are quite welcoming to strangers.”

Dacey laughed. “It’s quite alright. We rarely get guests in Nono, so we don’t want to chase you away as soon as you have arrived. Also, Seneca had a feeling she was going to need to prepare extra food tonight for some esteemed guests. She’s quite talented with fortune telling. I’m sure she’ll read your fortunes if you’d like.”

The tunnel opened up to an extremely large cavern that had a raised platform in the center of the small city. Around it, most of the houses were lined into symmetrical streets. At the base of the platform, there was an opening to what Loke assumed was the heart of the temple. Dacey and Naran set up the group in an empty house on the south side of the temple platform and once they left, Aapo returned to speak with the group. There was an ante room in the small house that Aapo asked to speak to the representative. They all agreed it would be Loke, but Magnar wasn’t about to trust him with her alone just yet and insisted that he tagged along. 

“So, Loke and Magnar, correct?” Aapo’s confirmations were met with nods.

“Great. I have some questions that your other friend might have been hinting towards earlier. I can see how it would be strange for people to offer so much to someone you don’t know, especially from outside in a place like this. But I assure you, we’re taking a great risk to our own people as well. I hope you realize the mutual trust.”

“Yes of course. I was quite surprised myself, but…” Loke was cut off by Magnar.

“But nothing. You would drink a glass of water from a stranger even if he had an empty poison vial in his hand.”

Aapo laughed. “Which, I assume is the reason you have accompanied her.”

“Yeah, something like that.” Magnar made himself as comfortable as he could while Aapo and Loke talked

“I assure you, we have no intentions on harming any of you. But I am a little curious. This is an unofficial curiosity, but we had taken a pilgrimage to Holom’s temple and were blessed with the opportunity to witness a ritual for prosperity. I believe the priestess shared the same name as you. We were quite far away and unable to see her, but her movements and words were quite moving, even from where we stood. It has been a few years, but it was a name that wasn’t quite in line with the cultural names, so it stood out a little.” Aapo’s arms were resting on the front edge of a table and he looked relaxed, yet it was obvious he was pushing for control of the conversation.

“Has it been so long…?” Loke mostly mumbled to herself before formally addressing Aapo. “I was likely that priestess. I haven’t done a formal ritual there in a while, so it may have been my last one at that site. If I may be so bold, but is this entire city comprised of Believers? I was under the impression Wiil wasn’t much of a Biyeho nation.”

Aapo nodded. “Indeed we are all Biyeho. I should introduce you to the priest. He may be the only priest in all of Wiil. They have their own spiritual beliefs, that aren’t much different than our own, but they have been quite kind to our community. It’s quite apparent that we need to go out into the sun for a lot of nutritional needs, but there is an oasis near here that will often trade goods with us.”

“So this is the only place in Wiil with believers?” Loke wasn’t sure if she should be happy or upset about that notion. Believers in Yopa were likely non-existent anymore, and Palen was making that happen in Caax as they spoke. Wiil wasn’t really known for having any believers in the first place, but she was quite happy she found them and a little saddened that she found just about all of them. The complete population of believers in Kabra, Nich, Tohil, and Zipan weren’t entirely known either, but she was a little worried that their numbers were quite limited.

“I believe so. That isn’t to say that those that left our city over the years aren’t still practicing, but as far as large communities go, this is where you are most likely to find us. I do have a question regarding that young man. I believe I heard you say his name was Votan.” Aapo’s curiosity didn’t end with Loke.

“We’ve only met him recently ourselves.” Loke wondered if he had the same questions about him that she did.

Aapo felt disappointed, but something still made him tell the story anyway. “Oh. We had a family leave a number of years ago. They tried so hard to have a child and eventually were blessed with a son. Unfortunately, the mother died in childbirth, but the father raised him with a lot help from everyone. Then, one day, he took his child to the city to try and trade some goods, only neither of them were heard from again. They named their son Votan in hopes he would grow to be wise. It seems like he would be the right age if it was him.”

“He mentioned he was orphaned at a very young age. I asked him about his name and he didn’t know where it came from. He’s likely not familiar with our practices.” Loke was excited at the prospect of finding Votan a home, but she wasn’t sure if he would feel the same.

“Is that so? That’s a terrible shame. Dacey may have more information regarding that man and child, so perhaps he may be able to talk to him at a later time.” Aapo relaxed into his chair. It was clear that he didn’t need to be confrontational here.

Loke shrugged. “I don’t see him as being someone that cares much about his past, but he was rather nonchalant about leaving Nakbe. It didn’t seem like he had very many ties there.”

“Then I will speak to Dacey and perhaps Seneca can learn something through his fortune that may help. Are none of you skilled with fortunes?” He would have expected at least Loke to be proficient.

Loke laughed embarrassingly. “It’s my largest failure as a priestess. I’ve never really had the talent although I am familiar with the techniques.”

Aapo’s face lit up. “Then we should have Seneca read everyone, if that is alright.”

Magnar made a face. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know anything about his future. He was quite content to live in the present and whatever was fated for him would happen as it happened. He didn’t necessarily want to know what was coming up. Loke felt similar, but for different reasons. She was mostly afraid of her fate being failure in her goals and some sort of great destruction. 

Aapo noticed their expressions looking unsure. “Or she doesn’t have to. She can look into other aspects as well, if you don’t wish to know about certain things. I know I don’t have the right to ask this of you, but would you consider performing a ritual for the city? I do not know if Nalli, our priest, will be bold enough to ask you for such a thing, but I feel that it would mean a lot to the people here.”

This was one area where Loke would never hesitate. She was always happy to oblige for a ritual or ceremony. “I would love to. I can speak with your priest later in regards to specific details, but it would be an honor to perform on your platform.”

“That is great news. I will arrange a meeting with Nalli for you and your acquaintance. I look forward to sharing a meal this evening with everyone.”

Aapo left the ante room and gave his pardons to the rest of the group that was milling around the rest of the house. No one seemed to be talking to each other, but they were all quite involved in their own interests. Blu had been carving marbles, Dias was exploring other rooms, and Votan was mostly staring at some of the carvings on the walls. Loke urged Magnar to get a little bit of sleep while he could and she set herself in a corner with her book and several loose pages sprawled out around her. 

No one was sure how many hours had passed before Dacey arrived to invite everyone to his home for Seneca’s home cooking. The food was similar to what they had available in Nakbe and Naran kept asking a lot of questions to everyone. He hadn’t been outside of Nono and was curious to everything he would find in the outside world. At the relief of everyone, most of his questions were simple, easy questions that were about day to day life. After dinner, Seneca offered to read fortunes for anyone that was interested. Votan seemed the most interested in her offer. She took him to a different room, where she had a set up with various stones. 

Seneca never asked any direct questions. There was that nagging feeling of who Votan might be, but instead she focused completely on what she learned and how it applied to Votan as he was now. “It seems you are without a family, but although not by blood, you will be able to forge a family of sorts. You carry a lot of denial within you as well. There is a lot of flux in your future. Your recent actions and upcoming choices will surely put things into position, but for now, there is a lot of fluidity.” Seneca was a little concerned. Fate was supposed to already be determined, but it seemed that Votan’s had yet to be completely decided. She had never seen so much variability before, but she was sure that things would fall into place for him. There was a large proportion of things she could see that were firm, but in some areas, it was remarkably hazy. “My advice to you is to be true to yourself. Learn who you are and be strong.”

Votan wasn’t really sure what a lot of that meant, but he thanked her and went back to the others. Dias replaced him with Seneca and he sat quietly and let her say anything about him that she wanted. 

Seneca enjoyed those that were cooperative, but without a direction, she sometimes wasn’t sure what road to venture onto. “Dias, you are quite knowledgeable. Very gifted in many areas as well. Though, it looks like you are looking too hard into certain issues. If you keep pressing, things won’t work out so well for you and it could hurt a lot of others in the process. Just remain observant and compassionate.”

“Seneca, don’t you want to pry into things that you’re curious about?” Dias challenged her on her warning.

“At times, but when it isn’t my business to know, I need to remind myself of that and remember I have other people that are relying on me and that I don’t need to waste my time with the affairs of others.”

“So you won’t tell me anything about other people.” Dias did have a secret desire that he could have gotten some of his answers this way, but it seemed that Seneca wasn’t as forthcoming with that information.

“Of course not. But if I were you, I would open up to others a little more instead of prying your way into other people. It will make things easier for you, in the end.”

“That’s a little easier said than done. But thanks, I guess.” Dias stood to leave. 

Seneca smiled brightly at Dias. “I know Loke was a bit intimidated to speak with me, but could you ask her to come in?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Dias left the room and after a few minutes of coaxing, convinced Loke to meet with Seneca. Loke really didn’t want to know how things end up for her, but nervously sat across from Seneca. “If you could refrain from revealing anything significant, I would really appreciate it.”

Seneca smiled and pushed the stones aside. “I don’t want to talk about any of that, especially if you don’t want to. I want to have a normal chat, you know, woman to woman. You’re surrounded by men all the time, it’s nice to have a good womanly chat sometimes.”

Loke wasn’t sure at all how to respond. “I don’t think I totally understand. What do you mean?” Almost all of her conversations dealt with accomplishing her goals, religion, or on the rare occasion she needed to, politics. Even her small talk was somehow important, like the weather.

“You’re traveling with quite the bounty of men. Have you considered any of them?”

“Considered any of them? How so?” Loke cocked her head, curiously. 

Seneca knew Loke was serious but could hardly believe her innocence and did her best not to laugh. “I mean, for a potential husband! Blu and Votan seem a bit young, but Dias seems quite intelligent and has a lot of compassion. I’m sure if he cleaned up, he could be even more handsome. And Magnar is quite an attractive catch.”

Loke flushed red. Never had she really thought about any of them in that light. “I’m not, I mean, I don’t think... no. No I haven’t. Blu is very much a pupil and much like a younger brother. Votan is a thief we just met, though I am quite interested in whom his parents may have been. Dias is tagging along for some personal reasons that I can’t even figure out, but is helpful for injuries and such, and Magnar I hired to keep me safe from things that I may come across. To be honest, I’ve never considered much in that aspect in my life anyway.”

Seneca smiled and started to move stones about. “I could read your relationships if you’d like.”

Loke shook her head violently. “No, I’m sorry, but I think I would like to continue to let fate decide my future. If I fail at this quest, I can’t say I could even deserve to attempt something so selfish. If I succeed, then I shall be far too busy to manage such a thing, I’m sure.”

Seneca was disappointed. Both that Loke seemed to have zero interest in her relations with others, but that she even considered a relationship selfish. “Alright, I won’t read your fortune. But I just will ask that you change your outlook a little. Relationships, be it familial, romantic, or otherwise can prove to be quite supportive and not selfish in the least. Just be open to the idea. And this is just advice from one woman to another.”

Loke was embarrassed to possibly have insulted her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

Seneca smiled again. “Don’t worry about it. Send in that other handsome man. I know he doesn’t want to know anything either, but it doesn’t hurt to ask one on one. Sometimes people’s decisions change.”

Loke nodded and excused herself. She hoped she didn’t insult Seneca, and wanted to apologize to her again, later. She also learned what types of things women were apt to talk about socially and she wasn’t sure that was going to be a comfortable situation for her, ever. She found Magnar walking around with Naran on his shoulders and told him that he was being summoned. He took Naran off his shoulders and the boy looked at Loke expectantly. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with children other than read to them, and since she had a book full of stories and information, that was what she did. 

Inside the other room, Magnar saw Seneca looking quite intently at him. “Everything alright?”

“Yes, I was just wondering what part of your life I could convince you to be curious about.”

“I already mentioned earlier that I wasn’t interested. Things are going to happen as they’ll happen.” She should already know that fate is fate and there wasn’t anything he could do about it anyway. It just frustrated him more.

“Then, may I take a peek anyway and offer you some advice? I don’t have to tell you any details.” 

“Sure, I guess that’s fine.”

“Great!” Seneca found him surprisingly easy to convince and smiled brightly while she dumped a bag of stones on the table, evaluating how they fell. Her expression changed several times as she looked them over and Magnar was starting to feel bored when she finally spoke up. “Whatever you do from here on out, defend her at all costs.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was hired for.” He didn’t need some fortune to tell him to do his job.

“Besides that. Always stay alert and defend her. The gods will always notice great efforts. And you can keep up that map thing. That’ll be good for you.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re about to cross some lines. But it wasn’t too informative, so I guess that’s fine. Can I go now?” Magnar started to stand.

Seneca felt a little defeated, but still somewhat victorious. She wish she could have told him more. “Sure. But there’s one more of you to talk to. I still need to talk to the quiet one.”

“Blu. I’ll send him in.” 

Magnar came back out and Naran ran back to him. He picked him up and told Blu to see Seneca. Blu was a little unsure, but he sat across from her, fidgeting a little. 

“You don’t need to feel nervous. Are you familiar with fortunes?” Seneca hoped that a gentle expression could calm his nerves.

“A little bit. There was one friend in the orphanage that was learning when we were little.” Blu was already starting to forget some of the names of the other kids, but he at least remembered what they were like.

“Your orphanage was one that was blessed by the gods?”

Blu shrugged. “I don’t really know. A few years ago it was taken over by the Tumben and we got pulled away from that and to a different one. I was just about old enough that I wasn’t at the other one long. I know the girl who did the fortunes was there when I left and given a hard time for practicing. I don’t think they look at that favorably.”

“I wouldn’t think so. You can relax here. Nono is a peaceful place. We are a city of believers, but we wouldn’t turn a blind eye to anyone else that came in. Was there anything you were curious about?” 

“I don’t know of anything in particular, but I’m worried about a friend of mine. She’s been in a lot of different places lately and I hope that she’ll find a place to call home one day. Um, would this work for her? I mean, she’s not a believer or anything.”  
Seneca made a face. “It is usually more accurate if the person that it relates to is here, but I can look to see how she relates to you, at least.” 

Blu watched her motions with great interest and was surprised how quickly she was able to provide him with an answer. “You’ll be able to meet this friend again, that much is certain. Though, at some point you will lose touch with her, so I can’t see beyond your interactions with her. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to give you more information.”

“No, that’s alright. I’m glad that I’ll still at least be able to see her again. Thank you.” Blu smiled and headed out.

Seneca left the room behind Blu. Votan and Magnar were still playing with Naran, but Dacey and Loke weren’t anywhere to be found. Aapo came over to them and explained that Loke went to visit with Nalli. Seneca’s face turned pale and she immediately yelled at Magnar. “Why did you let her go alone? Did you not hear anything I told you?” She started towards the door when Magnar caught up to her. 

“What’s wrong? Your husband is with her, right? And they’re going to visit the priest, so I’m not sure why she would be in any danger.”

“She isn’t in immediate danger, but she shouldn’t be left alone. If they take her there, she might not return as she was.” Seneca ran outside and Magnar chased her until they got to the base of the ritual platform. Seneca breathed a sigh of relief to see Loke and Nalli sitting on the stairs near the top of the platform.

Dacey was sitting at the bottom and looked confused when his wife and Magnar came running up to them. “What’s wrong? You look panicked.”

“She didn’t go inside, did she?”

“In the temple? No, of course not. Well, she tried to, but we convinced her not to right now. She’s up there talking to Nalli about ritual stuff.”

Seneca dropped to the steps, relieved. “Thank goodness.”

“Uh, what’s in that temple? Why can’t Loke go inside? She’s naïve, but rather bullheaded with things, so if she wants to, I’m sure she’ll go in at some point.” Magnar was entirely confused now.

“The temple isn’t really cursed, but people who go in seem to come out very different. They lose something of themselves in there. If people go in as a group, it seems to be less of a problem, but it’s popular with the youth as a test of courage that almost always has dire consequences.” Seneca wanted the temple blocked off with even more permanent methods, but no one shared her concerns as much.

“What happens to them?” Magnar was worried, but didn’t think Loke would be affected by something like that.

Seneca sighed. “Most of them either become very isolated and paranoid or they are talking about seeing strange things that are quite unexplainable.”

“But if multiple people go in, it’s fine?” Magnar thought this sounded like some sort of scare tactic.

“From what we’ve been able to see. But I really don’t recommend going in there. It’s darker than any darkness I’ve ever seen, and we live underground already.”

Magnar thought about the passage from the shaman and he knew it had to have been something Loke thought about going into. “Dacey, did you explain any of that to her?”

“Eh, not in as much detail. But I did mention it would be better if she really wanted to go in, to go in with her friends. She seemed to accept that and went up on the platform with Nalli.”

Magnar was still a little worried, but if she didn’t do something that stupid now, then it might be alright. “So what kind of ritual are they talking about?”

“I don’t really know. She was saying prosperity and protection were the most popular, but Nalli said he had some other ideas. It will mostly be a wait and see type of thing. Their conversation was way beyond my level.”

Loke and Nalli came down the stairs while the three were talking. Loke was surprised and a little anxious to see Seneca and Magnar there, especially after the distracting seeds Seneca planted in her mind. “What are you guys doing here?”

“You alright?” Magnar wasn’t going to tell her about the warning that Seneca gave him since it would only make her worry and him being worried for her was enough.

“Yeah, fine. I’m going to go back to the room for tonight. There’s a lot for me to prepare for tomorrow. At what should be sundown, I’ll lead the ritual for the city. Seneca, Dacey, thank you for providing for us. If you’ll excuse me.” Loke started back down the street and after Magnar excused himself, he chased after her. 

Magnar caught up to her easily. “So, what kind of ritual are you doing?” 

“I really wanted to do the one for protection, but Nalli said that they were plenty safe down here. As for prosperity, they are all quite comfortable, even with things aren’t as plentiful as other years. Instead, Nalli asked me to provide an offering to the light spirit to save them from impending darkness. I haven’t quite understood what he was referring to, so I wanted to look into some things a bit tonight. Tomorrow, I was hoping to go to the temple to see if I can learn anything more about the darkness since it seems to stem from there.”

“Seneca said that people don’t come out of there right.” Magnar frowned. He didn’t want to lecture her, but at the same time, if there was any significance to Seneca’s worries, then it would be best to be cautious.

“Nalli explained that as well. But with you guys, I think we’ll be fine. Also, this reminds me of the part of that passage that mentions light being brightest where there is no light to be found. I really think there is something to that. Although, I’m not exactly sure what it would be.” Talking about actual important things helped clear Loke’s mind. 

“Hey, um, did Seneca tell you anything about, um, the future or anything?”

Why was Magnar getting nervous? Loke just cleared everything from her mind and now she was worried that Seneca brought up the same topic she did with her. Most of the color drained from her face before it flushed bright red again. “Not even a little. She just shared some personal thoughts.” Personal thoughts that Loke hated now that they had infested her own mind.

“She gave me some advice, I’m not quite sure how to address this.” He nervously scratched the back of his head. “I’m apparently not to let you do anything or go anywhere without me. At least, that’s what I got out of it. She practically threatened me, I think. But I thought I was already doing that, since that’s what you pay me for.”

Loke was already thinking there was some double meaning behind what Seneca told Magnar, but he didn’t take it that way, so she figured she was over thinking things, as usual. She really wished Seneca hadn’t said anything at all. “Oh, well, if it was just that, then, you’re doing your job just fine. Keep up the good work! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take this ante room and hit the research!”

Magnar thought Loke was acting stranger than normal, but he was finally able to relax a little since this was a safe city and no one seemed worried about them being there at all. Seneca was probably being paranoid, but he couldn’t help but be curious about the temple now too. Eventually, everyone else returned to the house and they were able to get quality rest, even though they were all unsure about when the night ended and the day began.

Loke had spent the entire night reading and writing plans that most of got scrapped. She was quite used to rituals to make offerings to gods, but not the spirits. Rituals to the spirits weren’t unknown, but extremely uncommon. It was certainly something only a high priest or priestess would even be permitted to do, but even then they were pretty rare. Spirits were far more whimsical than the gods and she knew her affinity to the light spirit was virtually non-existent. Dias was finally accepting of her altering his scalpels, so she knew he had an affinity for it, but he wasn’t someone that she wanted to include in this ritual. She didn’t want to involve anyone, if possible. She had a few rough ideas, but really wanted to get inside that temple before the day wore on too long. She also wanted to delay the ritual a little to be better prepared. Once everyone else woke up, she would try to get them together and speak with Nalli and then get access to that temple.

Since no one else was showing signs of stirring, Loke set forth to the kitchen. Blu did most of their cooking, and they were quite spoiled for it, but she was capable of making some foods and she felt like she could manage something simple. The smell of something toxic was what woke Blu and he rushed to the source. Loke was being experimental and it wasn’t working in anyone’s favor. He ushered her out of the room and he took over food duties, once again. As Blu was pushing Loke out of the room, Magnar came in from outside. No one even noticed he wasn’t in the house, but it was quite clear that he was out working on a map. Dias heard everyone else’s voices and got up to join them. Votan was sleeping so soundly and no one really wanted to wake him up, but after Loke explained her intentions for the day, they woke him up and had him join everyone for breakfast.

While Loke and Magnar went to find Nalli, the rest of the group prepared to travel lightly yet prepared for anything that might happen in the temple. They convinced Nalli to postpone the ritual until she was fully prepared and also, after a lot of arguing, convinced him to open the temple door for them. They were under the condition to never separate and to return at the first sign of trouble. 

The inside of the temple was dark and narrow. A slight chill blew past them and even with the special candles, it was remarkably dark. Instead of bringing a whole plant, everyone took a piece from it and kept it on their person. The dark halls were rather straight forward and there were no doors, but it had many curves and turns. No one seemed terribly impressed and Votan was quite bored and wondered if he shouldn’t have just stayed in Nakbe, except he just had the best sleep and food that he ever remembered. They kept down the path until it suddenly ended. Frustrated that there was nothing to be found, Loke dropped to the ground and sat against the wall that blocked their way. 

“So, now what? It’s just one long, twisted hallway. Not really much of a temple if you ask me.” Magnar looked at the walls with the candle, but didn’t see anything.

“There should have been some sort of chamber. The ancient temples always had a preparation chamber below or beside the ritual platforms.” Loke pulled out some notes she made earlier that morning to review.

“I could see why people would get a little crazy in here though. The darkness is overwhelming.” Dias shielded his candle to get a better idea of the depth of the darkness.

“I think I feel something coming out of this wall over here. It’s a faint breeze, but did these things have secret doors or something?” Votan was pushing on a side wall a few steps behind the group.

Loke scrambled to her feet and joined Votan, looking over the wall carefully. She found a stone with a symbol etched into it. She recognized the symbol and turned to Dias. “Dias, can you place your hand over this symbol and repeat after me?”

He looked at the wall and noticed it was the same symbol Loke carved into his scalpels. “I’m not going to die from this, am I?”

“I don’t think so? But Blu knows some first aid, right? You should be ok.”

“Alright.” Dias surrendered and placed his hand on the wall and looked to Loke, waiting to hear what she had to say.

Loke flipped her paper over and started reading in the words of the ancients and paused so that Dias could repeat after her. It was a fairly long passage, but as they recited it, the wall began to rumble and as they finished a portion of the wall swung inward, as a door. 

“Well, I didn’t die, but it looks like we found the inner chamber.” Dias stared at the palm of his hand, not noticing anything special about it. 

A smaller platform was inside the large chamber and had bronze cauldrons at the corners. There were large murals on each of the six walls that surrounded them that seemed quite abstract, but Blu was starting to see a story within them. 

“Loke, was there some sort of battle between light and dark?” Blu was almost afraid to ask, but he knew Loke wouldn’t make fun of him. 

“Not really a battle, but certainly some conflict. The darkness was envious about how much the people loved and worshiped the light and shunned the dark. Dark wanted to be appreciated, but took it rather far. Because neither can exist without each other, they battled endlessly with no clear victor, which is why we have half a day of light and half a day of darkness. But dark always was resentful. Even today, darkness isn’t appreciated as much as the light is and is often taken for granted. According to the story, dark somehow was able to engulf light’s core. Light had enough love and admiration that no one would notice for eons that it would eventually fade because of that.”

“That’s quite a sad tale. I feel a little bad for dark, but that wasn’t a good thing to do to light, either.” Blu was following her story as his eyes moved along the murals. He was able to see most of it as she told the story. 

“That’s largely the sentiment, except the story does continue and not a lot of people remember the rest of it. Light vowed get their revenge as well and cursed darkness that if the light core were to ever burn out, the darkness that overtook everything would be a darkness that would destroy the world and there wouldn’t be anyone to worship anything.” As Loke rounded out the story, she realized what Nalli was asking for in the ritual and why the phrase that the shaman had Magnar relay to her was so important. This was the place where no light was to be found and where they would find the light. As she looked around the preparation area, her complexion paled. She knew what she needed to do for the ritual and her heart sank thinking about what needed to be done.

“Loke, you don’t look good. Are you alright? Was it something with the story?” Blu started to worry, but wanted to comfort her a little. “It seems the murals around here tell that story. Isn’t that neat?”

Usually she would have been quite ecstatic about such a thing, but to her, the murals were geometric shapes in what might have been bright colors. Her largest concern was how to proceed. She wondered if Nalli knew what would be forthcoming. “I think I’ve seen everything I need to see here for now. We should leave this place.”

“Hey, everything alright? You’re not going to go crazy on us, are you?” Magnar remembered the stories and how Dias said how easily people could lose it.

“I will be fine. When we get back, I would like to speak with Dias.” Her tone was somewhat downtrodden.

They made their way back through the temple in silence and were greeted by Nalli as they exited.

“So, how was it?”

“Dark. Very dark.” Loke’s expression was still heavy.

“It was dark, but there really wasn’t much in there.” Magnar wasn’t really impressed, but didn’t want to go into details about the inner chamber. He felt like that was Loke’s job, if anyone’s. Votan looked like he was going to start telling him everything that was there, so Dias nudged him a little.

“Well, to see everyone back in one piece is much of a relief. I was starting to worry as you were in there for several hours.” Nalli’s expression was hard for anyone to read properly. 

“Several hours? It only felt like about maybe an hour. Are you sure?” Loke was even more confused. She was well aware at how time seemed to pass quickly around her, but their time inside felt nothing like the hours she would waste reading.

Nalli nodded. “It is probably about mid afternoon or so.” 

“How do you guys tell time down here anyway? There isn’t any sun to tell day from night.” Votan thought that sounded fishy, even for a street kid like him.

“We’re born and raised here. We just have a sense. Is there any update to when you will perform your ritual?” Nalli was quick to change the subject

Already he was asking and Loke was starting to not want to do it at all. “I need to review one or two more things. But it seems that midnight might be a better time for something like this.” At least she could buy some time and even she had her own personal preparations to make before a ritual. 

Nalli grinned. “I will spread the word. Everyone is looking forward to it.” 

Nalli left the group and they started back to the house. “So, no pressure from that guy.” Magnar was clearly being sarcastic. “You going to be ok doing this? You don’t look too good.” Maybe that was why she wanted to talk to Dias, or so Magnar thought. She probably wouldn’t want everyone to know if she wasn’t feeling well.

“I’m fine. Let’s just go back.” 

Back at the house, Loke spoke with Dias at great depth in the ante room. Votan kept trying to eavesdrop but Blu kept pushing him away and ultimately sat outside the door. He couldn’t hear anything from the door anyway, so there was no way Votan was going to either. Inside the room, Loke drew several diagrams and explained her ritual at great depth to Dias, who didn’t seem to change expressions, regardless of what she said. When Dias left the room, his expression was still neutral, but Loke looked like she was emotionally drained and well worn out. Magnar saw her from across the room and looked at Dias. “Is she going to be alright? She didn’t lose her mind or something, right?”

“She has some things weighing heavily on her mind. She did request that everyone attend the ritual tonight and to be well prepared and on your guard. I don’t think she trusts Nalli, but she doesn’t think he’s dangerous. She is worried about things going south, but I have my utmost faith that she’ll succeed in her goals. Blu, if you would like, I can show you how to stitch wounds that you have been asking about for so long.”

Blu was excited, but wondered what finally changed his mind. He worried a bit about what was going to happen at the ritual since Loke looked so upset. For now, he would just go along with it. If Dias trusted her, then he should as well. “That would be great. Thank you!”

As night was supposedly upon them, Loke asked Magnar to accompany her and Dias to the temple and for Blu and Votan to attend the ritual. She gave them each instructions and those were her final words until she was to perform the ritual. At the platform, Dias was entrusted to Nalli for final preparations and Loke and Magnar entered the temple, to the preparation chamber. Loke never replied to Magnar, but he had a one sided conversation to try and make the silence less awkward. She didn’t mind, as she didn’t need to be kept in silence, but had to keep herself silent. In the inner chamber, Magnar was outside the door while she prepared herself. She needed to go through a small purification ritual and as she used the materials that were in each cauldron, she knew that Nalli was well aware of what was in here, as they were completely empty earlier. The two water cauldrons contained fresh water and the one that contained blood, was also fresh blood. The final cauldron was still empty, expected to be filled after the ceremony with gifts from the god they were worshiping that day. Except this was a spirit, not a god and she wasn’t sure what would be left behind. 

Once Loke had cleansed herself and used the blood to draw several markings on her body, she left the chamber and joined Magnar that had been waiting for her. 

“I know you won’t answer me, but is that all traditional? I mean, that fabric isn’t really covering a lot. Is it even an actual garment? And is that blood on your face? And arms? What kind of ritual is this? The ones you preformed before weren’t anything like this.”

Loke kept her eyes forward. She understood Magnar’s concerns and was full of concerns of her own. She hadn’t the heart to tell anyone anything about the details outside of Dias, but he never protested and accepted his role.

Outside the temple, the entire city had gathered under the ritual platform. Magnar saw Loke looked even more nervous and reached out to put his hand on her arm to try and give her a bit of encouragement, but she stepped backwards quickly to avoid his touch and shook her head and held her hands in front of her to emphasize that she was not to be touched. He escorted her to the bottom of the steps and she headed up them on her own. Magnar found Blu and Votan near the front and knelt beside them. 

“Hey Magnar, you were with her, what’s with that get up?” Votan had never been to any ritual or ceremony or seen any offering, so everything was completely new to him. 

“I’m not entirely sure myself, but she probably went through some purification thing, so it is probably along those lines. She hasn’t said a word in hours. But she is acting really weird. She loves rituals and ceremonies and stuff. Even at all the inns we stay at she sets up a small offering. I can tell she really isn’t looking forward to this. And I don’t know what Dias’ role in this is either.”

“Maybe it is like when we were on that cliff and she needed assistants?” Blu was just as lost as he was, but wanted to keep optimistic.

“I hope that’s all it is.” Magnar settled in and watched her arrange the dishes of herbs and oils on the platform. 

Finally, she addressed the city in words unfamiliar to her travelers, but quite familiar to the city. It wasn’t the same dialect, but they had a fair understanding of her meaning. Magnar only recognized a few words here and there. When Dias approached the platform, he was also minimally dressed in what amounted to a loin cloth and laid on the platform before her. Dias could tell that she was trying to hide her nervousness from the city, but offered her a faint smile and a nod to show he trusted her implicitly. She took a deep breath and continued her recitations and spread some of the oils over Dias and sprinkled herbs onto those areas. Ultimately, she picked up what looked like a long needle and Magnar’s color faded from his face. He realized what she was doing and took all of his energy to keep himself from rushing to stop her. Blu noticed Magnar tense up and as he heard the words of offering that he was actually familiar with, also realized what she was going to do. Votan leaned in to whisper to Magnar, but as soon as he heard the beginning of sound, Magnar clasped a hand over Votan’s mouth without even turning to face him.

Tears rolled down Loke’s face as she gave her plea of offering and slipped the needle into Dias where she would on someone to release their souls. Dias clenched his hands and closed his eyes as he listened to Loke’s words fade away. He felt bright warmth engulf his body and felt like he was in some sort of alternate place. He could see Loke and his body and the crowd of people bowing to the platform. But he was surrounded by endless light and his mind was filled with an entirely different voice. 

“Who are you? Where are you?”

“I am all around you. I am light. You have been hesitant to utilize my powers, but I do thank you for your gentle words and concerns. You will become able to fully utilize light to your needs. Because I have been called forth, I have been giving notice to your actions as well and while you will be fully able to control light, I know that you will not abuse this ability. Your concern for the welfare of others has let me draw the god of health to this table and is currently lending his power of healing to your soul. You’ll be one of the few with the true power of the gods.”

“I’m dreaming, right? Is this a test before reincarnation?” Dias never expected anything of this sort to happen. He expected that he might be offered as a sacrifice and was willing to die for the betterment of the believers.

“Go forth, spread the light and good health.” 

Loke pulled the needle from Dias as the light Dias saw had disappeared. Momentarily, everything went black for him and slowly he started to hear what sounded like Loke ending her offering prayer. He could tell something was going on by her tone and some gasps from the citizens, but he hadn’t quite come around and his own consciousness wasn’t in place. 

Loke finished her ceremony with a blessing to everyone in both languages and knelt beside Dias while the crowd dispersed. Nalli started up the stairs and Magnar took that as a cue that it would be safe for them to do so as well. He ran faster than any of them and reached the top before anyone else could get close. He noticed Loke holding Dias’ hand and her face streaked from tears. It was the first time he noticed the markings on her face that Dias mentioned a long time ago and wondered why he hadn’t noticed them before. 

“Loke, what was that all about? What happened here?” Magnar tried to look over the platform, but kept going back to Loke.

She wiped her eyes with her free hand, afraid to look at any of her companions. “The light’s core was fading. Light’s time was nearing its end. That was what Nalli meant by the impending darkness. Dias had a great affinity to light, so it was the natural course of action, according to the protocol.”

Magnar followed what she was saying and knew he shouldn’t forcer her to clarify, but he did anyway. “You offered Dias to the spirit of light?”

Loke couldn’t look at him and simply nodded, tears continuing to roll down her face. 

“Now, now, she performed admirably. Did you not see the light briefly fill our dark home?” Nalli finally reached the top and was quite proud of her. 

“That’s another thing, what was that? It looked like it came from Dias.” Magnar was wondering if the whole religion shift came from some event like this. He could understand how that could change someone. He looked at Blu who was clearly in shock and Votan was completely blank. 

“I don’t have an answer to that, I’m so, so sorry. But Dias accepted this role. He encouraged it, even after I suggested some alternate way. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…” Loke was going to keep apologizing when she felt her hand squeezed. She looked up and saw Dias’ eyes looking at her. 

Dias couldn’t see too well without his glasses, but blurry or not, he had a good idea as to what was going on. The words were filtering in bit by bit as he was coming around. “I knew I could trust you. You did quite well.” Dias lost consciousness after his few words, but it was clear that he was breathing. 

Nalli eyes had widened. “Was this not performed correctly? Was he not a worthy offering?” He was starting to panic.

Loke didn’t have any sort of answer, but before he could call her a fraud or try to minimize her in anyway, Magnar stepped in. “You said it yourself. She was admirable. There was that light thing. Maybe something else is going on the gods are trying to tell us. Maybe you shouldn’t jump to conclusions.” Everyone was upset about something, yet the best course of action would to let it all settle in and sort everything out. “Let’s get Dias home and Loke cleaned up. Blu, Votan, can you help her while I carry Dias?”

Votan snapped back into reality and put Loke’s arm over his shoulder while Blu did the same. The height difference between all three was a little awkward, especially on the stairs. Loke wanted to protest and insist she could make it on her own, but it was clear that she barely had any energy left to do much of anything. Dias was a lot heavier than Magnar anticipated, but they managed to get down the stairs and to their temporary residence. 

Inside, Magnar and Blu helped clean off Dias while Votan went back to get Dias’ clothes, and especially his glasses. Loke sat in the washroom, alone, trying to wash all of the blood markings. She was starting to scrub her skin raw, but she couldn’t see the blood wash away. After they had gotten Dias cleaned up and saw he was resting comfortably, they noticed Loke still hadn’t come out. Magnar knocked on the door and didn’t get a reply and Seneca’s words bounced through his mind. 

“You’ve got to be kidding…” Magnar mumbled under his breath and announced that he was going to open the door. He cracked the door and peeked in, seeing her on the floor, with water flowing from the wall over her body. She was clearly unconscious. “Blu, grab me a blanket!” Magnar ran in, flipped the lever on the wall for water and as Blu came in with a blanket, wrapped Loke in it and carried her out. “She’s going to hate me for this later, but there’s no choice.” Magnar was mostly talking to himself as he got her out of her clothes from the ritual and into something he could get on her easily, but all he had at hand was one of his shirts. At least it was quite big on her and would keep her pretty well covered. He dried her off and got her dressed and put her to bed. 

Votan kept trying to take a peek to what was going on, but Blu was trying to protect her dignity and kept pushing him out. “Come on, you can’t mean to tell me he isn’t enjoying that. She’s kinda weird, but she’s still…”

Blu cut him off. “He’s trying to make sure she doesn’t die. What’s wrong with you?”

Magnar came out of the room and looked at Votan before shaking his head. He heard everything while he was helping her. “I think she’ll be ok. I think she’s just worn herself out. She didn’t sleep last night at all and today was pretty intense. How’s Dias doing?”

“Dias is just fine.” Dias was standing behind them and looked rejuvenated. “Let me take a look at her, just to make sure.”

Everyone was speechless, given how alert and mobile he was so quickly. It wasn’t until he came back out of the room where Loke was that Blu asked about it. “Are you sure you’re ok to be up?”

“I’m quite rested, thank you. And Loke is as you said, just exhausted. The rest of you look tired as well. We can talk about everything tomorrow.”

“Dias, I wanted to ask you something. It’s about the markings...” 

Dias looked confused for a moment then realized what Magnar was talking about. “Ah, those. I have a theory, but I think it’ll be a matter of time before the answer is revealed. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

It felt like an unusual answer from Dias, who had been slowly prying at Loke’s potential secrets for some time, but given everything they just went through, Magnar decided to let it go for now.

Magnar woke to a pot of hot water being dumped on him. He expected Loke to be upset when she woke up, but he didn’t expect her to try and boil him. Blu heard his yell and peeked out of the kitchen. He saw Loke holding the pot as she stormed away and Blu never expected that was what she wanted it for. He felt a little guilty, but he had to fight back laughter. 

Votan was sitting at the table when everything happened and looked a little terrified. “Ok, I’m grateful you kept me out of there, Blu. That didn’t look too good for him. I couldn’t imagine what she’d do to him if he actually did something to her.”

“And neither does he.” Loke placed the pot in the sink and sat at the table. She was still tired, but found some solace in skimming through passages in her book.

Dias had been in the washroom and heard Magnar and assumed that Loke was finally up. When he came out and saw Magnar’s red chest and arms dripping with steaming water, he had an inkling as to what happened and sat at the table. “Feeling better this morning?”

“I should be asking you the same, Dias. But much better, thank you.” 

Magnar threw something on to join everyone and mumbled as he rubbed one of his upper arms. “We need another woman in this group. I’m not paid enough for this part.”

“I couldn’t agree more. I wonder why I tagged along with you guys. But yesterday was really different. I never saw anything like that.” Votan was a little excited, but with everyone’s mood swings in regards to it, he didn’t want to say something too wrong.

“I am actually going to agree with you on that.” Loke closed her book and sighed.

Dias wasn’t sure when the time would be appropriate, but he figured now was as good a time as any. “Since everyone is here, I should probably explain what happened on my end. Loke approached me after we went through the temple and explained what she figured the ceremony that Nalli wanted her to perform was about. It was probably Blu asking about the story that prompted it. Honestly, it still looked like abstract art to me, but in any event, as she explained things, it became clear she was looking for someone with an affinity to light. Since this was an offering to a spirit, it was quite different than usual offerings to the gods, which you are all familiar with.” Dias ignored the hand that Votan raised and continued talking. “I could tell it was something quite difficult for her to ask and from all of her research, she concluded this was one of those rare instances where an actual soul would need to be offered. She laid forth the scenario and began discussing alternatives, but even I knew that none of those would be appropriate. I’ve seen a lot of things in this world. I’ve seen the ugly side to things and I’ve seen quite a lot of good. I’ve lived quite a full life, so if the spirit wanted my soul, then I was quite happy to offer it.”

“But you’re here. So does that mean he didn’t want it?” Votan didn’t understand most of anything he was talking about, but was still enthralled in the story.

“Well, yes and no. I’ve been given the blessings to utilize the power of light at my own discretion. But what was most curious was after I received his power. I don’t quite understand what happened, but it was also explained to me that I was being given the power of the god of health.”

Loke stopped with a fork inches from her mouth. “Did you just say what I think you said?”

Dias nodded. “It feels very dreamlike, yet crystal clear.”

“Hey, so what does that mean? You can magically heal people?” Everyone was a bit confused and Magnar was familiar with the legends, but never believed something as far as people wielding the power of the gods or even being gods themselves could actually be a thing.

“I haven’t quite figured that out, but that may perhaps be the case.”

Their discussion hadn’t progressed much further as the front door swung open and a crossbow bolt was shot into the kitchen, straight at Loke. Magnar pushed her chair, knocking her over, but took the bolt to the arm. “Great, first I’m boiled, now I’ve been shot.”

At the door, Dacey was the one holding the crossbow with Nalli beside him. Nalli was the one commanding Dacey to shoot. “She deceived everyone! The sacrifice still lives! She’s a fraud!”

Blu was trying to remove the bolt from Magnar’s arm while Dias walked across to them. Dias mostly observed everyone, but after what he went through and the amount of respect he had gained for Loke, he wasn’t about to let them slander her and kill her. “She’s not the fraud in this room. A priest that demands the head of someone of much higher status then they are, is the sham. I assure you that she is no fraud.” 

Blu stopped fussing with the bolt when Magnar nodded in Dias’ direction. Loke was in the process of trying to get off the floor, but was mostly hiding behind the table. Votan’s eyes grew wide and he was even more confused than before. Even Dacey and Nalli stopped arguing and froze in place. 

From behind the table, Loke shouted to Dias in a whisper. “Dias, you’re glowing! The light is coming from within you!”

Dias glanced at his hand and could see that he had sort of halo effect. “So I am. This surely proves that the spirit of light has accepted me, does it not?” 

Dacey dropped the crossbow and Nalli backed up before running off. Dacey dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness. 

Blu managed to remove the bolt while Dacey’s pleas filled the room, but he couldn’t stop the bleeding. He and Votan were holding pressure and since there was no longer a threat, Dias ran back to the kitchen. Loke went to the door and crouched down to Dacey’s level. “I understand that everything seemed rather strange. To be honest, I’ve done hundreds of ceremonies and offerings and this was an unexpected result for me as well. No amount of priest or priestess training can prepare you for such things. And the spirits are quite a different feat than the gods. Also, please give my condolences to your family. The blood sacrifice was your father, wasn’t it?”

Dacey looked up at her. “How? How did you know?”

“Besides the fact he wasn’t there yesterday? I had a feeling. He seemed to know his time was ending. I do hope that his soul was properly released. I would be honored to meet him in his next life.”

“Yes, it was. Thank you.”

“Loke, you might want to see this!” Votan rushed in and grabbed her arm. Dias is doing something really funky.”

Loke ran in and Dacey followed, curious to know what was happening, since it was his fault Magnar got injured. Magnar’s bleeding stopped, but the wound was much smaller now. 

“You CAN magically heal things.” Blu was overwhelmed and disappointed that he would never be able to reach Dias’ level since he was given a god’s powers.

Dias was sweating, but was able to get the wound down to a manageable level. Blu ran to get the supplies to bandage it. “It is apparently a thing I can do now, but it is quite exhausting.” Dias sat against the wall. 

Dacey stood up firmly. I’m going to make sure Nalli understands. I won’t let either of you be insulted. Priestess, I’m terribly sorry for all of this.” 

Loke made a face. She hated being addressed by titles, but was relieved that everything was working out in the end.

The next morning Loke was packed and ready to go by the time anyone else woke up. Magnar noticed her sitting by the door with all of their supplies. “Loke, what are you doing?”

“I want to go to Kabra. Of known ceremonial platforms and associated temples, Kabra has the oldest.”

“How do you even suggest we get there?”

“We go west. I got some information out of Votan about Wiil last night. He said there is a small island off the coast that is easy to get to in a small boat and has a larger port that has ships to Tohil and Kabra. I also would like to go to Tohil, since the royal family is supposedly converted, but right now I want to get inside the temple in Kabra.”

“Kabra is cold. It has mountains and stuff, right?”

“So they say.”

“You’re serious?”

“Quite.”

Magnar wasn’t a big fan of the extreme cold or the extreme heat they felt before coming to Nono. He was the first one up besides Loke and wondered how they would react. “And how are we getting out of Nono? The way we came?”

“Of course not. I spoke with Seneca this morning. She told me the way to that oasis. It’s quite simple to get to, actually.”

“Great. Can we all wake up properly first?”

Loke didn’t really want to wait, but she understood getting breakfast in, especially since they didn’t know when the next time they would have such great accommodations. “Ok. But we shouldn’t wait too long.” 

“Yes your majesty.” Magnar said it mockingly but she gave him a look of death and he saw Blu from the corner of his eye coming out to start cooking. 

“What’s going on?” Blu was trying to make sense of things.

“Someone was behaving like a princess. You know, no regard to others around her.”

“I’m not a princess, I’m a priestess.” Loke gave him an angry glare and wanted to lay into him for referring to her as royalty in any facet, but she couldn’t do that with Blu there.

“Close enough.” He went into the kitchen with Blu and glanced back to see her clearly angry, but doing her best to not snap at him. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself. She never really seemed so urgent before, so something must be important for her to be this impatient. 

“Why’s Loke look like she’s ready to leave already?”

“She wants to go to Kabra. Apparently right now. But she can at least wait until we have breakfast and pack up.”

“What’s in Kabra?” Blu was genuinely interested in anything there was to learn, but Kabra was quite far away and cold. It was as cold as Wiil was hot.

“Ice. Mountains. Some fjords I heard that are nice looking. She mentioned a temple.”

Loke came in while they were talking, though neither Blu nor Magnar noticed. “The oldest known temple and ritual platform.” 

“Older than the one here?” Blu couldn’t believe that the one in Nono was as old as it was, let alone something being even older.

“Probably about 100 years older. Not terribly significant in comparison, really, but a few generations can make a difference.”

“It’s probably because it froze in ice or something.” Magnar was never a fan of cold weather, especially ice and snow.

“What’s this about ice?” Dias walked in with Votan right behind him. 

“Someone wants to rush out to Kabra.” Magnar made a face as he burnt his tongue with coffee.

“Kabra? I spent some time there during the war, but it might not be what you are expecting. There should be pockets of each faith, but both are quite at odds with each other. I would imagine there are villages that started in Nich that transferred there. How are we planning to get there?”

Magnar nodded towards Loke, who was still sending him death stares the entire morning. “We take a ship west. Votan was the one that provided those details.”

Votan didn’t want to get involved with any big discussions, but seeing as he got roped into this one, he had little choice. “I heard things, you know, in Nakbe. There should be an island off the west coast that runs to Tohil and Kabra. I figured that would be a better idea than going back the other way, right?”

“Hm. I’m most concerned about the fjords on the east coast of Kabra, but if they already run routes through there, then I suppose it shouldn’t be much of a concern right now. Why the rush to Kabra?” Dias likely missed this part of the conversation, but he still wanted to know.

“After what happened here, I was reading some more things about the spirits and their usage and wanted to get more information. I know that the oldest ritual site is in Kabra, so I was hoping their temple could be useful.” She felt like it sounded like she was abandoning her original mission, but Nono was a protectorate city and Kabra’s platform should have one as well. She was also aiming to find proof to also keep Holom safe. Even if she stepped up and took full control of her country, there could be serious repercussions for Biyeho as well. Loke was naïve, but Edras was also smart and even if Dias were to utilize his powers of healing, he would likely find a way to talk around it. She needed definitive proof. She thought the temples were long explored, but the secrets this one had weren’t something that would be discovered by any random investigation. “After that, I do want to visit the royal family in Tohil.”

Votan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because anyone can just walk up to the palace and pop in for a visit. Maybe I should visit the sovereign here and let them know how poor and hungry we are in the streets.”

“Votan has a point, Loke. And if they converted, they may not be quite so willing to sit with a priestess in the old religion.” Dias felt like his breakfast tasted a little bit better than before.

“I know. But that was one of the reasons I wanted to put visiting Tohil on the back burner for a while and visit Kabra first.” Loke had a method to get an audience, but she really didn’t want to tell everyone her secret as long as she could keep it.

“Didn’t she get to see the queen in Holom though? She had that letter when she came back to Caax from Nich.” Blu was trying to support Loke, but didn’t want to insult Dias’ observation.

“Whoa, she met the queen? What was that like? I thought she was just being ambitious or something.” Votan may have underestimated Loke, but he still thought she was rather annoying.

“Difficult, in many ways. But she does care a lot about people and was quite generous to help the people of Seibal.” It felt weird having to explain herself as someone else entirely. She wished she could tell them everything, but she also knew that now wasn’t the time. 

Votan didn’t know where Seibal was, but wondered if she was just inflating her since she was talking about a royal person. “Did anyone else get to meet her?”

“I’m afraid I was the only one to visit with her that day. Dias and Blu were in Holom and Magnar had the day off.”

“You gave your bodyguard the day off? Are you allowed to do that?” Votan thought that aspect sounded weird, but Dias interpreted it slightly differently.

“Yeah, she was at home. She didn’t really need protection in her hometown. I wasn’t even hired until she was near Caax.” Magnar already finished eating and was heading to pack up his supplies. “And since someone is in a bit of a hurry, I guess I can get myself together too.”

The less than subtle reminder reminded everyone of Loke’s urgency and picked up their own pace. They made sure everything was as orderly as when they arrived and saw Seneca in the streets and gave her thanks for all of her assistance. Magnar took the poorly scribbled map from Loke after she got them lost and led everyone to actual exit of Nono.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fairly long, sorry! (or not sorry...?) Anyway, Loke's a little more content that the Biyeho aren't dying out and is more than pleased to have what might be some sort of lead for her quest to prove Edras wrong. She doesn't know how to save them all yet, but she also still needs to know what's still out there. One country at a time. To Kabra!


End file.
